BƦØƙEN
by Mistlethewarrior
Summary: Hollyleaf, Lionblaze and Jayfeather are living a lie. When a powerful secret is revealed, the three must deal with the challenge of moving onwards, forgetting the past and learning to forgive, because nothing can stay BƦØƙEN forever... Can it? (Rated T for mild language and violence.) [Human Warriors] CURRENTLY UNDER QUALITY CHECK/NEW CHAPTER SOON
1. The Beginning

**Okay, I know this concept has been done so many times, but I'm hoping that mine will be a little different! The first few chapter will probably be uneventful, but I hope you guys will enjoy the story anyway, enjoy my first fanfiction! On with the chapter!**

 **Chapter One**

"Hollyleaf! Get up!" Lionblaze was standing above his sister, wielding his toothbrush in his hand as Hollyleaf rubbed her eyes, _what time is it?_ She could see her door had been opened, probably by Lionblaze kicking it in. Jayfeather was stomping around outside her bedroom wearing his school uniform, his white shirt hanging loosely off his almost skeletal frame as Hollyleaf bolted upright.

"School!" she hissed, "why didn't you wake me up?" she pratically threw herself out of bed, the winter cold seeping into her as she slung opened her wardrobe and grabbed her uniform, consisting of a white shirt, red tie, grey skirt and a thick sweatshirt in the colder months. Lionblaze strutted out of her room, his uniform somehow still managing to look cool as Hollyleaf frantically glanced at her clock, _the bus is going to be here in ten minutes! Why didn't that idiot wake me up earlier?_ To say that missing the school bus was a regular occurence was the understament of the century, and every time it happened Squirrelflight just became more annoyed. Snow was falling outside, the mid-December weather unravelling outside the window as Hollyleaf pulled on her sweatshirt, the final item of clothing she needed, tightening her tie and opening her door again. Jayfeather shot her his usual angry glare and yelled down the stairs,

"Holly's awake! _Finally."_ he hissed the last word and stomped back downstairs. Jayfeather wasn't a big fan of school, not that he was a big fan of anything, but he _really_ hated school. Because he was blind he was often treated differently and he didn't share many classes with the other students. He usually helped the school nurse, who was their aunt Leafpool. Lionblaze was already downstairs, rummaging through his bag, _probably looking for some homework that was due in last year!_ As Hollyleaf leaped down the stairs and skidded into the kitchen she saw her mother, Squirrelflight, tossing some bread into her bag. Squirrelflight wasn't the most orginised person at the best of times, and when she was stressed she was even worse. She had a high up job at the City council, she worked long hours and always seemed to be tired when Hollyleaf managed to spend time with her.

"The bus is going to be here in five minutes!" she screeched, "Get your bag!" Hollyleaf jumped as her mother grabbed her laptop and a box of cereal, pushing past her daughter into the living room and throwing Hollyleaf's bag off the table. Lionblaze appeared again and smiled coyly,

"Better hurry up, Holly!"

"Why you little-"

"Shut up!" Jayfeather stumbled into view, his red tie bright against his pale skin and shirt, his blind eyes angry as he slapped Lionblaze on the arm and grabbed his backpack. Hollyleaf stood in the middle of the chaos, _and I thought..._ Squirrelflight glanced at the clock hanging on the wall and let out another screech,

"Have you missed the bus _again?_ Do you three _like_ making my life difficult!?"

"My ears!" Lionblaze wailed,

"Your ears are going to hurt a lot more when I'm finished with you, young man!"

Squirrelflight muttered something else inaudible and grabbed her phone, quickly dialling before holding the device up to her ear, "Hi Tawnypelt! Yes, that would be great! Thanks, I don't know what I would do without you!" she narrowed her eyes at her three children before throwing her phone in her bag and shoving her keys in the door. It blew open as a stron gust of wind carried small dusty flakes of snow into the house, making Hollyleaf shiver.

"Everyone outside! The last day of school before the holidays and you're all late! Your aunt Tawnypelt is going to pick you up! _Again!_ " Lionblaze grabbed Jayfeather and guided him outside whilst he protested. Hollyleaf scrambled to grab her bag whilst her mother cursed loudly. Finally, when everyone was outside she slammed shut the peeling front door and locked it. Hollyleaf and her family lived on a street right on the Thunder and Wind division border. The city was split into four divisions, Thunder, Wind, Shadow and River, the divisions mainly kept to themselves, apart from at the centre of the city and at the schools where kids from all four divisions attended. Hollyleaf barely talked to any of her Wind division neighbours across the street, apart from the odd 'hello', the only time she mingled with kids from outside her division was at school, Pebbleshore High School.

Squirrelflight opened her car, a small silver vehicle which looked like it should have been sold for scrap years ago, she got inside and closed the door, pausing only to wind down the window and say goodbye, _well, you could call it that;_

"Behave yourself, Lionblaze! If I hear about any trouble like yesterday then you're grounded until you turn eighteen! Wait here for Tawnypelt and be polite, Jayfeather! Hollyleaf, please, _try_ not to get another detention!" With that she rolled up her window, and with one last warning glare, screeched out of the driveway, a flurry of snow left behind as Lionblaze snorted,

"If she's talking about me and Berrynose _accidently_ freezing the snow outside the school car park then-" a rusty blue minivan pulled up outside, snow flying up as Tawnypelt leaned out of the open window,

"Hurry! School is starting soon!" Lionblaze thrust open the door and jumped inside, Hollyleaf and Jayfeather following him as they all squashed inside beside Flametail and Tigerheart. Dawnpelt cast all of them suspicious looks from the passenger seat as they closed the door and turned out of the driveway. Luckily, the roads in the city could be use by anyone in the four divisions, _very lucky! Otherwise we'd never get to school!_ Hollyleaf gripped the side of her seat as the minivan made a sharp left turn, _I'll wake up early every single morning if i can avoid Tawnypelt's driving!_

"Everyone looking forwards to the holidays? Two weeks of no school, hey?" Tawnypelt smiled, trying to break the silence. "Brambleclaw tells me you're going to Firestar and Sandstorm's Christmas party! I guess we'll see you there!" Hollyleaf turned to see Flametail straightening his black tie, representing Shadow Division, as the van made another sharp turn which sent her veering into her cousin.

"Nearly there!" _Thank the Stars!_

As the students pulled up beside the school, Hollyleaf still dizzy, Tawnypelt smiled again,

"Well, have a great day guys!" Hollyleaf and Dawnpelt were first out of the car, followed by Jayfeather, Tigerheart and finally Lionblaze. As the six started walking up the steps leading to the large building they heard Tawnypelt leaving them in the clutches of Pebbleshore High School. Suddenly a middle-aged man with grey hair and yellow eyes walked out of the building, raising his eyebrows as Hollyleaf shivered again.

"Vice-principal Graystripe!" whispered Lionblaze, scuttling over to join his sister; Graystripe tapped his watch and grimaced, Hollyleaf knew what was coming now...

"Hello," he nodded, "Would you six mind stepping inside for a minute? I think we need to have a little chat."

 **Uneventful, I know, but hopefully I'll be able to get more into the next chapter! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter; don't forget to review and all that jazz!**

 **-Mistle**


	2. Detentions and death stares

***gasp* could it be? Chapter two already? Wow I'm on a roll! Ok so I'm sorry last chapter was pretty uneventful. Don't worry though, the drama will start to unfold soon... the last chapter was pretty short as well, but I'm planning to do shorter chapters and update more often. Thanks for reading and enjoy the second chapter!**

 **Chapter Two**

"Alright," Graystripe raised his eyebrows, "I expect you to be on time _every_ day after the holidays, Ok?"

"Yes sir," Lionblaze nodded and stared at the door, where students could be seen rushing to morning registration, _oh Starclan, Ashfur won't be happy if I'm late again! I could really do without another detention!_ Graystripe checked his watch and sighed, collapsing into his chair as he picked up his pen and rolled it between his fingers,

"Good, now, I suppose you had all better get to your form rooms; I'm sure your teachers won't be too pleased if you're late!" he paused and muttered, "now _why_ did I work in a school? No wonder I have so many grey hairs!" Hollyleaf leaned out of the uncomfortable chair she was sitting in, the leather squeaking as she stood up, her equally uncomfortable shoes brushing against the ugly-coloured carpet as she opened the door and walked out of the stuffy office, Jayfeather and Lionblaze falling in beside her as she hauled her heavy bag over her shoulder. Tigerheart, Dawnpelt and Flametail sped off in the other direction towards their form rooms.

"Well that was pointless," Lionblaze grumbled, "Now we're going to be even later to class!"

Hollyleaf sighed, "Well at least you don't have _Ashfur_ to deal with!" as the three turned the corner she saw her form at the end of the hall; she gripped her bag tighter as she stopped and held her breath, "wish me luck!" Lionblaze nodded and dragged Jayfeather down another hall towards their form. Hollyleaf released the breath she had been holding and finally mustered up the courage to walk into the class. Ashfur was sitting at his desk , his feet were lazily propped up as he glared at Hollyleaf, the rest of her classmates seemed to collectively take a breath. They knew what was coming next. Ashfur's blue eyes gleamed as he yawned and sat up,

"Well, if it isn't Miss Hollyleaf Carter! A little late, aren't we? What a shame, and on the last day as well..." He grinned, Hollyleaf knew how much he enjoyed this part.

"I... I, uh," she stuttered; Ashfur's smile widened and he grabbed his pen with his slender fingers, before scribbling something out,

"Detention," he growled, "after school. _"_ The class gasped again, but they all averted their eyes from the front as Ashfur shot them all a glare,

"Get on with your work! Or I'll have to inform Graystripe my form isn't up to standard! Then you'll _all_ be in detention!"

"But Sir!" Hollyleaf wasn't surprised when Berrynose stood up, "It's the last day! You can't-"

"Berrynose!" Ashfur grimaced, "sit _down_ or you'll be _joining_ Hollyleaf in _detention!_ Thank you!" unsurprisingly Berrynose planted himself back in his seat, amongst giggles from the class.

"Now," Ashfur turned his icy gaze back on Hollyleaf, "here at four O'clock, please, Miss Carter. Now sit down." Hollyleaf's face burned with shame as she rushed to her seat, nearly knocking over her friend Cinderheart in an effort to hide herself.

"Berrynose!" Ashfur screeched, "this is your last warning! Get on with your work!"

* * *

Unlucky!" Foxleap and Toadstep cackled as they exited the classroom where Ashfur was waiting. Everyone had been in high spirits that day, the thought of two weeks without school was driving everyone until the final bell rang, signalling their freedom.

"Thanks a bunch," Hollyleaf mumbled, too worried about what was ahead to reply fully. This wasn't her first detention with her grumpy form teacher, it was her third, to be exact. She had always sworn blind that Ashfur hated her, he always picked on her to answer questions she obviously didn't know the answer to, he embarrassed her in front of the class, he made snide comments about anything and everything to do with her work. He just hated her, and honestly, the feeling was mutual. Lionblaze and Jayfeather's form teacher was Brightheart, who was the complete opposite of Ashfur, sometimes she wished she could just switch classes.

Foxleap and Toadstep sprinted down the hallway, knocking down banners and decorations as they celebrated. _Lucky them, no, lucky me!_

"Miss Carter! Come in!" Ashfur stood in the doorway, his unusual grey hair was messy as he grinned. Hollyleaf reluctantly stomped into the room, she hated Pebbleshore High School's after school detention policy, _I'll talk to Firestar about it._

"Are you going to make me clean out the gym store cupboard again?" she asked bravely, she shivered remembering the horrors of her last detention. Ashfur's smile widened, the dark blue tie he was wearing seemed to bring out the small specks in his eyes. Hollyleaf had known him for longer than she had attended Pebbleshore, her mother Squirrelflight and him used to be friends, but not any longer, apparently.

"As you know, Hollyleaf," he grinned, "After three detentions, we call your parents in to try and fix any problems that cause detentions. In your case, being late. It's nothing to worry about, it won't take long." Hollyleaf felt her jaw drop as Ashfur looked at the door. _Does that mean Sq-_

"Unfortunately, when I got the school office to call your parents, I found out your father was unavailable. He must be busy with all that important police work, right?" Ashfur seemed to roll his eyes slightly but continued, "luckily your mother was happy to come and talk with me! I believe she'll be here soon!" he muttered something to himself then turned back to his work. Hollyleaf didn't know what to do but stand aimlessly, desperately hoping Squirrelflight wouldn't embarrass her. Her mother was only what could be described as a firecracker, if you got on the wrong side of her, well... _Please be calm! Be collected, it's just a little chat! Nothing to worry about! Somehow I'm having trouble believing that..._

"I'm here to see Ashfur," Hollyleaf jumped at the sight of her mother standing in the doorway, wearing her usual all black outfit with her dark red hair tied into a messy ponytail. Ashfur looked up from his work and smiled, there seemed to be something behind it that Hollyleaf couldn't detect as he invited Squirrelflight inside.

"If you don't mind leaving us alone, Hollyleaf?" he motioned to the door and Hollyleaf quickly walked out, shooting her mother a quick warning glare before stepping into the hallway. Ashfur closed the door behind her and Hollyleaf jumped when she saw her two brothers leaning against the lockers.

"Wait, what are you two doing here? I thought-" Lionblaze looked up at the ceiling, his light brown eyes squinting in the light,

"We got told by the school office not to get on the bus and meet Squirrelflight here because she had some _'business at the school'."_

"Oh."

"' _Oh_ ' indeed!" Jayfeather hissed, "When I woke up today I imagined I'd come straight home and relax, not trail around school because you were an idiot and got a detention!"

"Well I'm sorry that my form teacher has a deathwish for me!" Hollyleaf whispered, _I don't want to get even more on Ashfur's bad side!_ Jayfeather glared at her, his blind blue eyes looking accusing. About two minutes later Squirrelflight appeared again, with Ashfur behind her. Hollyleaf's mother looked slightly stressed, _well as stressed as she ever gets,_ and Ashfur still had the smirk plastered onto his face.

"Well," he smiled sweetly, "I hope you all have a wonderful holiday!" Hollyleaf was extremely confused by his demenour, sweet was not a word she used very often when Ashfur was around. Squirrelflight smiled equally nicely,

"You too!" she motioned with her hands for Hollyleaf and her brothers to start walking back down the hall towards the enterance. As they did Hollyleaf just caught the end of her sentence to Ashfur,

"-And maybe you can let it go!" _What? Is she really taking him giving me a detention that seriously? Well, I'm not arguing!_ Hollyleaf glimpsed the angry look on Ashfur's face and decided she was ready to go home. _I've had enough of him to last a lifetime. Hopefully Squirrelflight won't ground me for the entire two weeks after this._

 ***Cough* short *Cough*. Oh well, at least I tried, right? Next chapter will be longer, I promise!**

 **-Mistle**


	3. Back home

**Chapter Three! Yay! Ok so this chapter won't involve school to give you guys a break from boring school stuff! Please review guys! I will thank you at the start of the next chapter! Thanks for reading and enjoy!**

 **Chapter Three**

"I call shotgun!" Jayfeather grinned as Lionblaze cursed, their car was parked in the icy, empty parking lot outside the school. Whilst her brothers were fighting Hollyleaf scanned Squirrelflight's face for any glimpse of anger but her mother kept her expression cool.

"So, um, about tha-"

"Don't worry about it!" Squirrelflight smiled, making Hollyleaf shrink backwards, something was definitely wrong.

"But- I-I-"

"Honestly! It's fine!" but the smile remained, Hollyleaf decided to take Squirrelflight's word for it, however she still doubted that she was _completely_ fine.

"You always ride up front! It's not fair!"

"Should have been faster then, shouldn't you?"

"Ngargh!" Lionblaze grunted reluctantly and muttered under his breath as Squirrelflight unlocked the car and Jayfeather got happily into the front seat. Hollyleaf breathed out, her breath turning into smoke in the cold air. She was relieved that she had two whole weeks off school to just do nothing and recover from the busy term she'd had. She got inside the car and did up her seatbelt, resting her head on the cool leather of the seat.

"You look exhausted, Holly!" Squirrelflight exclaimed as she started the car, "school been that hard?" Hollyleaf sighed and look up, she could see her mother's green eyes in the mirror. Eyes were the one trait they shared. Hollyleaf had always thought it odd that none of her siblings looked very like her parents but then again, _what do I know about genetics?_

"More like my teachers have been hard!" she snorted, "Ashfur terrorises my form, Longtail sets an essay as homework every single Wednesday and Coach Cloudtail makes us run laps every lesson in the freezing cold!"

"Wow," Squirrelflight tried to hide her grin as she exited the parking lot and started heading home, "poor you. Mind, back when I went to Pebbleshore, Longtail set _two_ essays every week!"

"No way!" Lionblaze laughed, "what other teachers did you have?"

* * *

By the time Hollyleaf had reached home she had pretty much heard all about Squirrelflight in High School, including Lionblaze begging her to tell them the story of the 'quest' she went on when she was a teenager to find a new place for Pebbleshore City. Luckily Squirrelflight had spared them from that _gem_ of a tale.

As the car pulled into their driveway, Hollyleaf saw another car parked there already. It belonged to her aunt Leafpool, her mother's twin sister. It seemed like Leafpool was always over at their house for some reason, mainly because Squirrelflight always complained about what mischief Lionblaze had gotten into or so Leafpool could report on Jayfeather's medical training. At the moment, he was being trained in first-aid; apparently so he could become a doctor some day. However, Jayfeather had admitted multiple times he would rather deal with Berrynose than become a doctor. Which was saying something.

As she stepped out of the car, snow had slowly started falling. It coated the ground in a thin layer of white dust and the cold air hit her as she scurried to the door, rubbing her hands together to try and stay warm, frost layered on the pavement. Hollyleaf saw Jayfeather shiver, his blue eyes clouded over from the cold. Squirrelflight locked the car and walked towards the house.

Inside, Leapool sat at the dining room table with her laptop in front of her, she smiled as her niece and nephews walked in. It was warm inside and Hollyleaf breathed in the familiar scent of home. Brambleclaw, their father, was sat opposit their aunt, sifting through some papers. He was the head of he Thunder Division police department, the job had been held by him for as long as Hollyleaf could remember.

Squirrelflight kissed him on the cheek and sat down on the chair next to him, Leafpool continued typing on her laptop as the two spoke.

"How was work?" Squirrelflight asked as Hollyleaf dropped her bag on the floor and kicked her shoes off, Brambleclaw put down the sheet of paper he was examining and smiled,

"It was great! It was a shame that officer Purdy retired, but he's getting on now and he's served us well. We'll be needing some new recruits soon!" Lionblaze looked up from the video game he had just started and grinned,

"Just wait! As soon as I've finished school I'm going to join the force! I'll be the best officer you've ever had!" Brambleclaw smiled wryly,

"I'm sure you will be, son! How was school then, you guys?" Jayfeather grunted his apparent approval and Hollyleaf, trying to forget her detention, said it was fine as well. Lionblaze launched into a full description of his day. When he was finished Leafpool looked up,

"Why don't I look after the kids tonight? You guys need a break from working and I haven't seen them in ages!"

Brambleclaw looked at his wife,

"Well... We wouldn't want to cause you any trouble..." he trailed off,

"It's no problem!" Leafpool had a smile on her face, "I love spending time with them!"

Hollyleaf sighed, great a night with her annoying brothers and protective aunt, _how could life get any better then this?_ Sometimes when Squirrelflight had had enough of Lionblaze and Jayfeather's fighting she called Leafpool to 'babysit' whilst she went out with Brambleclaw so Hollyleaf was used to her aunt being with them. Leafpool had always been there in the background whilst they were growing up, helping Hollyleaf with her homework when she was younger, teaching Lionblaze how to ride a bike and Jayfeather how to fly a kite, all the stuff that a parent usually does.

Whilst she had been thinking to herself, Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw were getting ready to leave, with one last goodbye they closed the door behind them and left Leafpool, Hollyleaf, Lionblaze and Jayfeather alone.

"So... Uhh," Leafpool shuffled on her seat "what do you guys want to do?"

Hollyleaf looked outside the large window in the living room. Across the street, on the Wind Division side, a large moving van was parked outside a house, a family of three appeared to be moving in, Hollyleaf squinted through the thick snow falling but she could only vaugely make them out. There was a tall, slim man with black hair, and a child who Hollyleaf was sure she'd seen somewhere at school, she just couldn't place them...

"Hey," she turned to her brothers, "have you seen this family moving in opposite? I think they're Wind Division!"

"I haven't _seen_ anything." Jayfeather replied snarkily as Lionblaze made his way over to join Hollyleaf. He peered out of the window too,

"Weird, I swear I've seen that kid before..." By now both Leafpool and Jayfeather had joined them, Jayfeather rolling his eyes. Leafpool stiffened at the sight of the neighbours, making Hollyleaf jump. Her aunt seemed spooked by the new arrivals.

"Well I-um- shall we-"

"Can we go and say hello?" Lionblaze chirped,

"I really- _really_ don't thinks that's um... A good idea?" Leafpool stuttered, her tanned skin turning crimson. _What's up with her?_

"Please?" Lionblaze begged, "It's been ages since we've had new neighbours!"

"But-" It was too late. Lionblaze had already opened the door and was bounding through the snow, Leafpool threw a desperate glance at Hollyleaf, who sighed and put on her shoes. _This is so stupid! Why does Lionblaze have to 'say hello' to everyone he meets?_ She followed her brother outside into the bitter air, the frost biting at her as she tried to cross the road. A car was already making its way down the street but Hollyleaf figured she could make it across in time so she stepped off the pavement. She hissed as her angle twisted and she was thrown into the road, her whole leg stinging as she tried to get up. Dizzy and disorientated, she called out for Lionblaze, her voice getting louder and more urgent as she realised what was going on. The car was getting closer and she tried to drag herself away from it but to no avail. Suddenly, a bright light flashed and brakes screeched as Hollyleaf screamed. The last thing she saw before she passed out was Leafpool's horrified expression frpm the other side of the road.

 **Ohh! Cliffie! Well, not really, but hey who's judging? I'm really sorry this chapter was so short but I promise I will update tomorrow! Please review guys so I know this story doesn't suck! Yeah, so I hope you enjoyed this *cough* short *cough* chapter!**

 **\- Mistle**


	4. Neighbours

**Hey guys! Ahh two reviews for the last chapter! Thank you to The Great Nurpsy and Smallwhisker for reviewing! It means the world to me! So, we left the story on a cliffie, what will happen next. Maybe some familiar characters will be introduced, huh? Read on to find out! Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **Chapter Four**

"Hollyleaf! You're awake!" bright white lights pierced her eyes as Hollyleaf blinked slowly, a stinging pain in her side made her jump suddenly, her eyes wide open now. She glanced around the whitewashed walls of the room she was in, the peeling paint and fleurescent lighting made her want to go back to sleep. A blurry face above her came into focus, Squirrelflight's worried gaze relaxed a bit when she saw Hollyleaf fully awake.

"How are you feeling? Do you want anything? Are you thirsty? Hungry?"

"What happened?" Hollyleaf mumbled,

"Do you really not remember?" Squirrelflight looked puzzled, " _at all?"_

"I remember... Lionblaze running, going after him and... A car?" Hollyleaf had never been more confused, her memories were almost buzzing around her head too fast for her to reach them.

"Well," her mother began carefully, her eyes shifting, "You followed Lionblaze into the road but you fell. Then a car just tapped you, nothing too serious! The doctor says you fainted from shock, not from the impact! Your father and I were barely round the corner when Leafpool phoned us and said you were hurt, we were so worried, we took you straight to hospital; which is where you are now." Hollyleam groaned as the pain returned, _if the car didn't hurt me, then why is it so painful? Ouch!_ As if Squirrelflight knew what she was thinking she glanced over at her,

"You had a small cut on your side, that's just where they treated it." _Great. Wonderful._ "I suppose I'd better let you get some rest, huh? The doctor said you can come home this evening if you feel up to it, so I'll be back then. Bye! We all missed you!" Hollyleaf stared up at the ceiling as her mother patted her arm gently then left her room. She lay there for about ten minutes, in complete ilence before a nurse came in.

"Miss Hollyleaf Carter? You have another visitor, they've been authorised by your mother, is that okay?" _Who's come to visit me?_

"Well, sure then, I guess..."

"Wonderful!" the nurse turned back to her,"I'm Mothwing, by the way... You probably don't recognise me but I'm friends with your aunt, we used to work here together before you were born!" _Leafpool used to work here? Why'd she start working at the school?_ Mothwing smiled again and turned back to the door,

"Well I'll tell them to come in! I hope you feel better soon!" with that sh walked out and closed the door behind her, leaving Hollyleaf staring around the room some more. She was attempting to shuffle upwards when the door opened again, she was shocked when a skinny boy with black hair sttod there. He had an shy expression on his face as Hollyleaf looked at him closely. _Wasn't he the one I s-_

"Hi," he began awkwardly, "So I know you don't know me, but , well I-I'm the new kid. From across the street! Yeah." He looked up at Hollyleaf; _I knew it! But why is he here?_

"Well the truth is," he coughed and looked down at the floor, "my dad... He was, well, he w-was driving the car that hit you!" he blinked and grimaced, waiting for her reaction, "I'm sorry, he would've come with me but he was, er, busy. I'm Breezepelt. " _Breezepelt, I don't think I've heard that name before... He looks kind of familiar though..._

"Well, thanks-"

"And I know this has probably messed up your holiday but-"

"It's fine."

"R-really?"

"Sure." Hollyleaf rested her head back against the pillow, truthfully, she just wanted to go home. She could feel the awkward silence so she sighed quietly, _just make some conversation._

"So... You go to my school, right? Pebbleshore?" Breezepelt looked suprised at her question but he mustered,

"Yes. I-uh, we moved from the centre of Wind Division after some stuff happened with my dad, I used to be home-schooled but my mother thought it was best if I started going to school with other kids, I only stated last week."

 _"_ Cool, I guess I'll see you there after the break. You got any brothers or sisters?"

"Uhh, no, my parents didn't want any more kids after me. To be honest," he looked sad, "they don't really get on that well anymore." Hollyleaf didn't know why he was telling her this, but somehow she didn't mind. _It makes a change from the other boring stuff in this city._

"Okay..." Pebbleshore was a large city, with a lake in the middle. Because it was so large people often had to move around in their divisions due to work, school and other personal reasons. Because of Brambleclaw's police job, Hollyleaf had lived near the centre of the city all her life, but she could image how weird it was for people moving from the outskirts. "Well I'll see you at school then, Breezepelt?"

"Yeah! OK! Well, see you then. Have a nice holiday and sorry again." He smiled before waving and heading to the door, "Bye Hollyleaf!" As he closed it behind him Mothwing entered again. _Will I never get any sleep? I'm so tired, I just want to go home!_

"Everything okay?" Mothwing stared kindly at her with warm, brown eyes, "You can go home soon, we just need to sort out the paperwork. Also, your aunt Leafpool called to apologize. She said she was sorry for letting this happen to you. I told her not to wory and that you were fine." _Leafpool, ah, she's going to be apologizing for this until I leave home._

"That's fine," Hollyleaf smiled, "so, how long till I can go home?"

 **So! Breezepelt has been introduced, very out of character, albeit. Thank you again to the two reviewers! Please review, follow and favourite! I promise I will update soon! (Btw this chapter was mainly just to introduce Breezepelt, the rest was just my rambling.)**

 **-Mistle**


	5. Party time

**Hey guys! So, chapter five! So, in this chapter I will try to introduce more characters, maybe there will even be a few unexpected appearances! Thank you again to the people who reviewed, also in response to The Great Nurpsy; thank you so much for reviewing! Also, yes I will try to include characters from the Omen Of the Stars! Hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

 **Chapter Five**

"Hurry up Lionblaze! We're leaving in two minutes!" Squirrelflight sighed as she checked with Brambleclaw once again that he had filled up the car with fuel, Hollyleaf sat down on a chair in the living room. Tonight was her grandparents, Firestar and Sandstorm's annual party that they held in the winter holidays. They invited family and friends from all four Divisions and every single year Hollyleaf and her brothers were forced to attend and'socalise', as Squirrelflight put it. Firestar's house was right in the centre of the city, he was the head-teacher at Pebbleshore and very well respected within all Divisions.

"Hollyleaf, _thank you_ for wearing that sweater your grandmother made for you! It looks lovely! I wish your brothers would do the same!" Hollyleaf looked down at the sweater, it was dark green with red stripes and it had been knitted by Sandstorm, _out of very itchy material I might add._ Brambleclaw glanced at his watch, and nodded to Squirrelflight,

"We need to leave now or we'll be late!" Squirrelflight clicked her tongue and stormed upstairs to find Lionblaze and Jayfeather. Hollyleaf had come home from the hospital the previous night, and she had to say she felt much better. The pain had completely disappeared and once she had gotten over the initial shock she was ready to enjoy what was left of winter break.

Outside the slightly open door, the sky was a dark, midight blue colour. The light from the house stretched just far enough so Hollyleaf could see the car, the smell of smoke was in the air and she breathed deeply in. The cold, fresh weather making her eyes water slightly. Lionblaze suddenly bounded down the stairs, Jayfeather in tow, along with an annoyed Squirrelflight.

"Lets get moving!" she hissed, "Firestar will be wondering where we are!" Hollyleaf stepped outside, nearly slipping on the icy, stone stairs. Lionblaze and Jayfeather followed her both dressed in a shirt and tie, and finally their parents. Brambleclaw locked the door and strode through the snow to the car. He unlocked it and got into the driver's seat, Squirrelflight sat in the Passenger's, leaving Hollyleaf and her brothers to fight it out for the remaining ones.

In the car, Squirrelflight rummaged through her bag, loudly complaining about how they were always late. Brambleclaw hummed to himself as he turned the car off their street and towards the city centre, obviously trying to ignore his wife's ranting. Hollyleaf stared out of the window, she could just make out the lights in the houses they drove past, Lionblaze and Jayfeather were still quietly arguing, and they continued all the way to Firestar and Sandstorm's house. As their small car pulled up into their grandparent's driveway, Hollyleaf looked at the already parked cars. She could see people walking towards the open door, Sandstorm ready to welcome them. A warm glow was ejected from the doorway as Lionblaze shoved his siblings out of the car. Hollyleaf stumbled out, nearly crashing into Squirrelflight.

"Stars! Careful!"

"Sorry!" As the family started walking up the driveway, towards the light of the house Hollyleaf fell in stride with Jayfeather, who was looking grumpier than usual. When they reached the entrance of the building Sandstorm greeted them, patting her granddaughter on the arm,

"Hollyleaf! I hope you're fine after what happened! How terrible! Aha! You're wearing the sweater I knitted you, lovely! Do you like it?" Hollyleaf tried to smile, just nodding her head as Jayfeather tried to push past her; getting caught in the fire.

"Jayfeather, is that you? You've grown so much-" Hollyleaf took her sudden distraction as a chance to slip away, "-how is your training going? Leafpool tells me you're going to go on to great things, young man-"

"Why don't you go and say hello to Dovewing and Ivypool? Lionblaze grinned at his sister, pointing to the two blonde-haired girls in the living room. Hollyleaf turned to look at him,

"Well I don-"

"Don't be shy! Hey Ivypool!" He gave her a little push towards them as Dovewing squealed and waved Hollyleaf over. Lionblaze snickered and went over to speak to Tigerheart.

* * *

At the end of the party Firestar finally called for a toast, Hollyleaf was about to fall asleep; Dovewing was still rambling on about something that both her listeners had lost interest in.

"I'd like to thank everyone for coming tonight, the party has been a success and we'd just like to wish everyone a happy holidays! It's wonderful to see everyone after so long." Firestar winked, "and I'll see all my students after the break, ready to do some excellent work!" A collective sigh rang from the children attending Pebbleshore as Firestar grinned.

By the time all the tired people started heading home Hollyleaf felt like her eyes were carrying weights, she was so tired. Lionblaze still seemed lively; _he's probably had sugar!_ Jayfeather looked like he could kill with his stare and Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw were saying their last goodbyes to Firestar and Sandstorm. Firestar embraced his daughter,

"Have a great holiday, and could you try and check up on your sister tomorrow? She called us to say she couldn't come because she was ill."

"Of course, see you soon!" As formalities were exchanged, Hollyleaf turned her gaze over to the other side of the room. A tall figure was standing in the corner who she didn't recognise. _I've never seen them before... Maybe they're from another Division?_ Suddenly they turned around, blue eyes like ice glinting in the warm light. Hollyleaf recognised them, she wished she didn't. They narrowed their eyes, the glare flickering slightly. Hollyleaf turned and quickly followed the rest of her family. She wanted to go home.

 **Thanks for reading this chapter! So, a few things I wanted to address: I know that this is set in the middle of winter, when it's June, so... Yeah, trying to get in some early cheer... maybe? Ok so apart from that issue, Hope you are enjoying the story so far: in the next chapter Holly and her brothers are cleaning the attic! What secrets will they find? Ok so please review, follow and favourite guys!**

 **-Mistle**


	6. Mission attic clean

**Wow, chapter six already! So just so you all know, if I get 4 more reviews from you guys, I will post a special chapter: maybe... A flashback perhaps? From the point of view from one of our unintroduced characters? You guys will have to review to find out! Ok so on with the chapter!**

 **Chapter Six**

It was the day after the party and Hollyleaf was exhausted. All she wanted to do was curl up into a ball and sleep, but apparently her mother had different plans.

"I don't care! It needs clearing!"

"But it's not our fault it's so dirty!"

"Well! If it's that bad you'd better start now!" Squirrelflight smirked, Brambleclaw had already left for work that morning; apparently there was an emergency down at the station. This left Hollyleaf and her brothers with Squirrelflight, who had decided the attic needed a clear out. Tired of arguing, Hollyleaf, Lionblaze and Jayfeather trudged up the stairs that led to the attic, Lionblaze grumbling. _Who knows what's up there? I can't remember it ever being cleaned out whislt we've been alive..._ Jayfeather ran his hand along the wooden hatch until he pushed it open; a small cloud of dust flying up. He coughed,

"We need to air this place out!" He carefully stepped up and entered the small room, more and more dust flying as he did. Lionblaze scampered after him, with Hollyleaf cautiously following. She had never fully been inside the attic before, _I can't say I wish I had!_

"We should hurry up, the faster we start, the faster we finish." Hollyleaf blinked, trying to clear a dust free space around her head. Suddenly Lionblaze screamed and pointed to the floor, Jayfeather jumped away from him, shock clouding his sightless gaze.

"What in the name of the Stars?" he shreiked,

"A dead mouse!" Lionblaze wailed, pointing a finger to the corner. Hollyleaf rolled her eyes at her brother as Jayfeather slapped him with an old newspaper which looked like it was from 17 years ago. Three years before Hollyleaf was born.

"Lets get on with it!" Lionblaze scuttled over to the other side of the attic and started rifling through a box, spreading more dust in the air. Jayfeather shook his hair and went through another box, leaving Hollyleaf to the last two boxes. She kneeled down, intrigued, and carefully opened the flaps of the smallest box, it was mainly empty, apart from a thick leather book and a small journal along with some other mothbitten papers. Hollyleaf picked up the leather bound book and carefully opened it, inside the cover a small note read: 'Property of Leafpool Evans'. Hollyleaf flicked over the page to see a collection of dusty old photographs there. _A scrapbook! Leafpool's old scrapbook..._ On the first page was a photo of a younger Firestar and Sandstorm, playing with what looked like a five year old Squirrelflight and Leafpool. The photos were all old; Squirrelflight and Leafpool were thirty two, Squirrelflight had given birth to her children in the summer after she had left school. _So that makes these photos... Twenty seven years old! From ten years before the newspaper._

Her mother looked happy in all the photos, these days she rarely smiled or looked anywhere near that happy. Hollyleaf assumed it was just the stress from her job. Turning to the next photo, her mother and aunt were at their 9th birthday party, again they both looked happy. In the next photo Squirrelflight and Leafpool were teenagers, Firestar was with them at the park. The next was a photo of Leafpool standing with a group of boxes, she looked older now. _That must be from when she went to college._ Squirrelflight had planned to join her but after she became pregnant she decided to look after her children instead. The last photo was of Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw, they were standing next to each other outside the house Hollyleaf was in at that moment. Looking at the date she realised it was from about three months before they were born, but as Hollyleaf looked closer she realised something was wrong with the photo. _Why doesn't Squirrelflight look pregnant? She was six months into pregnancy and she looks the same as she did in the other photos! Wierd... Maybe it's just the angle? Yeah, that must be it._ It seemed like a part of the last page had been ripped off, only the date remained. It was from two weeks after Hollyleaf and her brothers had been born; the rip was jagged, like someone had been in a hurry.

"You finished daydreaming?" Jayfeather snapped, Hollyleaf jumped. _I think I'll keep this to myself._

"Umm, you know what?" Hollyleaf asked her brothers, "Is is okay if I stay up here and tidy some more whilst you guys grab lunch?" Lionblaze squinted through the dust at his sister,

"Is she feverish?" he asked comically, stumbling towards her, "she wants to do extra work!"

"So just because I feel like helping out it seems suspicous?"

"Yes!" chorused Leo and Jay together.

"Unbelievable!" Hollyleaf rolled her eyes and turned back towards the box,

"Actually..." Lionblaze snorted, "if it means less work for me, I'm cool." He grinned and hopped through the hatch with Jayfeather following him. He cast one last sultry glare before shutting the door above him. Leaving Hollyleaf alone with the box. She excitedly opened it again, grabbing the diary, it was also covered in dust. She carefully blew over the top and turned the front cover open; inside, in much messier handwriting than previously found in the scrapbook it read ' _Diary of Squirrelflight Evans, age 17 and a half. READ IT AND DIE!'_ That sounded nothing like the Squirrelflight Hollyleaf knew but she shrugged. Deep inside her, her morals screamed at her that it was wrong to read somone's private thoughts but her curiosity was like an itch. _And if it was really that important it wouldn't be up here, would it?_ She glanced around and carried onto the first page:

 _Dear Diary,_

 _I can't believe Leafpool! Who does she think she is? She's totally going to ruin everything, if Dad ever found out... I just hope that i can manage to talk her out of this, before it's too late. Brambleclaw keeps trying to bring up the future, he wants to meet me tomorrow. I think it's serious and I'm worried; I don't know if I can deal with all this- Leafpool always seems so mature and responsible. I never imagined she would let this happen._

That was where the entry ended, leaving Hollyleaf confused. What in the name of the Stars was her mother on about? What had Leafpool done that made her so angry? Hollyleaf quickly flipped the page where the next entry was, m _aybe this will make more sense..._

 _Dear diary,_

 _They've just come into the world, they're so sweet! Leafpool's already regretting giving them up, and I honstly don't know if I'm ready for this huge responsibility. Brambleclaw doesn't know yet. I don't think he can know, ever. He'd be too upset! They were so cute though... Ah! I don't know what to do anymore!_

Hollyleaf shook her head, now she was even more confused. Next to the entry was a picture of a cat, who she recognised as Squirrelflight and Leafpool's old pet Sparks, who had died from old age a few years back. Another photo of some kittens was stuck in, suddenly Hollyleaf realised what she had read. Obviously Leafpool had been upset because she had had to give away Sparks' kittens! Of course! And Squirrelflight didn't want to tell Brambleclaw because he'd get too attached, _he's always had a soft spot for cats._ Hollyleaf rolled her eyes, so much drama over a few pets!

"Well, like Squirrelflight always says, 'don't dwell on the past'," Hollyleaf grinned and picked up the Diary, finding nothing else of interest apart from more cat pictures. A picture that had fallen out was laying face down on the floor. Expecting another cat photo shoot, Hollyleaf turned it over, nearly dropping it in suprise. It was a picture of Squirrelflight again, this time she was about the same age Hollyleaf was now, she was standing happily with a boy of the same age. He had his arm draped around her shoulder and a bright smile. With a sharp intake of breath she shoved it back in the box and closed it; trying to wipe the image from her mind. _Ugh, all this work has made me hungry!_

 **Well, well, well... This was a very strange chapter but I felt like it so yeah :) Remember to review to get that special chapter! Follow and favourite if you feel like it... (Hey it was worth a try!) Finally, Thank you to everyone for actually reading this! I have like nearly 150 views I think! Hope you enjoyed this chapter and the next one will be out soon!**

 **\- Mistle**


	7. Future dates, past friends

**Okay! So it's Chapter seven already! Thank you to guest reviewer (You know who you are) for reviewing! Three more reviews to get the special chapter! Thanks for reading guys and on with the chapter!**

 **Chapter Seven**

Leafpool watched from across the table as Hollyleaf finished eating, her light brown eyes flashed as her niece pushed away her plate. Her aunt had taken her, Lionblaze and Jayfeather out for food whilst Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight were at work. Hollyleaf couldn't make eye contact with her aunt without thinking of all the things she had seen the previous day; although she understood what one of the diary entries was talking about... The other one's meaning was still unclear.

"So," Said Leafpool brightly, "Is anyone going to the Winter Dance at your school?" The Pebbleshore High school Winter dance was an annual event held during the holidays, it was probably the largest social event of the year. Students from different divisions could invite each other and it was seen as a chance to socalise with new people. Usually, apart from in school, people from different divisions kept their distance and cross-division relationships were forbidden. Hollyleaf didn't know why, it was just in the code that held their society together. _And if the code is broken, we have no society._

"Yeah, I'm going..." Lionblaze shuffled in his chair. Hollyleaf cocked her head, Lionblaze hadn't mentioned it before. Usually the three went with their friends, Jayfeather, who usually stuck with the other kids who had been selected for the first-aid course, looked interested by his brother's comment.

"So, who are you going with?" he asked in a mocking voice, his pale, blue eyes gleaming. Lionblaze looked awkwardly at his siblings,

"Well, there's this Wind Division girl... She asked me and I said yes- but we're just going as friends!" he glare at Jayfeather, who was snickering, "friends!"

"Yeah, _'friends_ '," Jayfeather cackled, "like any girl just wants to be _friends_ with you! Ha!" Leafpool looked distressed as she quietly tried to calm Jayfeather and Hollyleaf down, both were now laughing loudly,

"Now, Lionblaze was only doing the right thing! Anyway, I've met Heathertail; she's a very nice girl!" Hollyleaf wiped her eyes and turned to Jayfeather,

"So who are you going with then?"

"No one! I think I'm going to give it a miss this year and-"

"Wait!" Leafpool's tone brightened again, "How about you go with Willowshine? She's available." Jayfeather looked horrified, his face froze as Lionblaze laughed,

"Not so funny now, is it?" Willowshine was from River Division, she was doing the first-aid course too, and in her spare time she helped Mothwing up at the hospital. Jayfeather was not fond of her, he had a whole host of nicknames for her that would probably give Leafpool a heart attack if she heard.

"Umm, you know what," Jayfeather looked pointedly at his aunt, "I'm busy that night."

"Nonsense!" Leafpool obviously had her heart set on this idea, she got out her phone, "I'll give Mothwing a text and see if she can ask her for you!" Leafpool started tapping furiously, whilst Jayfeather looked on in terror.

"There!" Leafpool planted her phone back on the table, "Oh, don't be silly Jayfeather! Willowshine's so sweet and kind. You'll get along like a house on fire-" By this time, Jayfeather was looking slightly nauseous. Hollyleaf patted him sympathetically on the arm, Leafpool took this as a sign to end the conversation. Hollyleaf sighed in relief, she didn't fancy being the next victim in her aunt's matchmaking spree.

As the four walked out of the shop, Hollyleaf saw Cinderheart and Poppyfrost down the street, she ran over to greet them,

"Hey!" Cinderheart and her sister grinned as they saw their friend approaching, Hollyleaf returned the smile,

"Hi! Stars... I've just had to listen to my aunt forcing Jayfeather to go with the winter dance with Willowshine." Poppyfrost and Cinderheart laughed. Hollyleaf had known the girls, and their sister Honeyfern, since they were small. Squirrelflight and their mother, Sorreltail, were very close. Cinderheart was in a form with Hollyleaf and was her best friend, they shared everything.

"Well I, for one," Poppyfrost clicked her tongue, "am not going with a date. The dance last year with Toadstep was enough to put me off dating forever. How about we all go as a group? No dates." Hollyleaf and Cinderheart nodded. Hollyleaf turned around to see Linblaze yelling for her to come back, he was standing next to Leafpool's car. Hollyleaf said goodbye to her friends and ran back over to join her brother, who was by now sitting inside the car. Leafpool was already in the driver's seat, so Hollyleaf squeezed herself inside; she clicked in her seatbelt and Leafpool nodded before starting the car and pulling out into the road. Jayfeather was staring out of his window so Hollyleaf decided to do the same. The pane was covered in a light, silvery layer of frost, which seemed to gleam in the December sunlight. She was so busy admiring it that when Leafpool hit the brakes at a set of traffic lights, she slammed into the back of Lionblaze's seat.

"Oww! Watch it!" he squealed. Hollyleaf was squinting back outside, not noticing her brother's comment.

"Hey! Isn't that Breezepelt and his family?" There stood Breezepelt, he was with a man who had the same coloured hair and pale complexion and a woman, who had her hand clamped protectively around Breezepelt's wrist. She looked like she was snapping at the man, who Hollyleaf presumed was his father. _The one driving the car._ When Hollyleaf looked back at Lionblaze she noticed Leafpool's eyes bulging as she stared at Breezepelt, her disbelieving expression slightly scared Hollyleaf, she was in a trance until Jayfeather spoke.

"Leafpool, the lights have changed!" his voice rang across the silent car as she shook slightly and snapped out,

"Sorry! I wasn't paying attention, silly me! Let's go!" Hollyleaf decided to ignore her aunt's jumpiness, as the car glided back into the house's driveway she hopped out and ran to the door. It was open. Inside was Squirrelflight, still dressed in her work clothes, her crumpled up papers in her arms.

"Hey!" she looked up, "How was the food?" Hollyleaf nodded and ran up to her room where she flopped onto her bed. _I'm so tired! I could sleep for a week!_

"What do you mean?"

"He was there! With his family! His other one..." Hollyleaf strained her ears, but was too tired to get up and look at what her mother and Leafpool were talking about. The converation continued,

"So? He's no longer a part of your life. Remember that. Okay?"

 _What in the name of the Stars... Who are they talking about?_ Hollyleaf shrugged to herself; she was honestly too tired to do any more detective work. _They were probably discussing some old college friend of Leafpool's or whatever. Nothing more._

 **Whoa, so what about Leafpool? Nothing much going on at the moment... The dance is next chapter! The shipping spree is going wild, Leafpool has introduced WillowxJay, I don't think that pairing is gonna go anywhere though... See ya next chapter!**

 **-Mistle**


	8. The dance

**Chapter eight! Ok, so we still need two more reviews for that special chapter, halfway there! Sorry about the long wait from chapter six to chapter seven, by the way. Anyway; on with the chapter!**

 **Chapter Eight**

It was the night of the dance and Hollyleaf couldn't decide what to wear. She was sitting on her bed, wardrobe open as she squinted closely at her clothing choices; she finally settled for a thick black sweater and jeans. Shouts could be heard from downstairs,

"I'm not going! You can't make me!"

"Jayfeather, you don't have time for this! Willowshine's on her way over, and if you behave like anything less than a gentleman at that dance then you're grounded! I told Leafpool to keep an eye on you and to tell me if you don't behave." Leafpool was chaperoning the dance, along with some other teachers, and Jayfeather was already grumbling about it. Hollyleaf closed her door, trying to block out the arguing,

"Please! I'll do _anything_!" Jayfeather begged, unsuprisingly to no avail. Lionblaze was patiently waiting downstairs for Heathertail, with Brambleclaw beside him. Last time Hollyleaf had checked they were both sitting silently with their hands in their laps, watching as Squirrelflight and Jayfeather squabbled. Suddenly the doorbell rang out, interrupting the scene downstairs. Hollyleaf jumped up and opened her door again, from her room she could see across the landing and downstairs to the door. Heathertail was waiting nervously outside, her light brown hair pulled into a tight bun Lionblaze had now joined her, waving goodbye to his parents as the pair walked away. _Lucky him, now he doesn't have to listen to-_

"Make me!"

"Jayfeather!" Squirrelflight was dropping Jayfeather and Willowshine to the dance, their mother had insisted it was because she wanted to make sure he was polite, but Hollyleaf suspected it was also that she was scared about Jayfeather going out onto the roads basically by himself. Squirrelflight swore she didn't worry about her blind son as much any more, _but the truth is she worries more than ever_.

"Hollyleaf, when are Cinderheart and Poppyfrost coming?" Brambleclaw called up the stairs, Hollyleaf bolted out of her room and bounded down the stairs, skidding into the living room. Her father was waiting, still dressed in his police uniform.

"They sent me a text about ten minutes ago sayng they were on their way now." she nodded, "they should be here any minute." Hollyleaf spinned around to see Jayfeather slouched on the sofa, a resigned expression on his face. His eyes, however, were still furious. She jumped when the doorbell rang again, this time it was Cinderheart and Poppyfrost. Brambleclaw opened the door and smiled politely as Hollyleaf stepped over to the door, and then outside into the fading light. The cold, crisp air chilled her bones as she turned around to say goodbye to her family. Squirrelflight grimaced,

"Have fun... But remember the rules!" _I will, all twenty six of them..._ Hollyleaf nodded and exchanged a final farewell before Brambleclaw closed the door. A thin layer of powdery snow dusted the floor and as the sky got darker the trio set off down the street. As Hollyleaf passed Breezepelt's house she looked up to see a light in the top window, _I wonder if he's going to the dance?_ They got to the end of the street and turned left, towards the school; it was about a fifteen minute walk to the city centre where Pebbleshore was.

* * *

By the time they had reached the school's entrance, Hollyleaf's chest was heaving. Cinderheart was wheezing as well,

"That's my excercise for this year! Let's go!" Poppyfrost led the way to the hall, with her two friends dragging behind her, trying to catch their breath. Through the open double doors Hollyleaf could see the silver lights illuminating the hall, banners hung from the walls and students were milling about, some were dancing, others just talking. As they walked inside, Hollyleaf spotted Lionblaze and Heathertail chatting to some other Wind Division students. Music played quietly from speakers at the side of the hall, and there was a snack table where all the teachers were standing; Leafpool among them.

"What shall we do?" Cinderheart asked. Poppyfrost pointed to a group of other Thunder Division kids,

"Let's go talk to them, I wonder if Honeyfern and Berrynose are already here?" The three walked over and joined the students, Foxleap, Mousewhisker, Icecloud and Hazeltail were standing there. They smiled as Hollyleaf and friends approached. _Jayfeather should be here by now, if Squirrelflight was dropping him._ She looked back towards the door to see that Jayfeather had arrived, Willowshine trailing behind him; attempting to look happy. Leafpool rushed over to greet them, obviously hearing from Squirrelflight to keep an eye on Jayfeather. Hollyleaf rejoined her friends' conversation, leaving her brother to deal with Leafpool and Willowshine. After about half an hour, Lionblaze came over to ask Hollyleaf if she knew where he had gone.

"Uh, no." she replied, "he looked pretty mad when he came in, he's probably hiding in one of the classrooms like he did last year."

"Oh, it's just-" Lionblaze was cut off by a shrill ringing sound. All the students turned to face the entrance, where Graystripe was standing. _What's going on? Why does Graystripe look so worried?_ Graystripe held up a hand, and the music stopped, he spoke clearly

"We have a fire in the school." he held up his hand again at the gasps, "we've called the fire department but it's spreading fast. We need to evacuate the building, if everyone could _calmly_ make their way to the fire assembly point outside! Thank you, follow me!" Hollyleaf's eyes widened, how did a fire start in the school? She grabbed Lionblaze's wrist as a thin trail of smoke started to enter the hall. People brushed past, knocking into them as Hollyleaf stiffened,

"What about Jayfeather? I think I know where he is!" her brother's favourite place to go when he didn't want to deal with anyone was the school library, Hollyleaf's bet was on him being there. When she told Lionblaze he looked sheepish,

"But that's towards the fire." he mumbled, looking scared. Hollyleaf stared at the corridor at the back of the hall, which led to the East side of school- and the library. The trail of smoke had now turned into a plume, billowing out into the nearly empty hall. She looked around for teachers, only Longtail remained, and he couldn't see them.

"We have to find him, what if he's trapped?" without waiting for an agreement, Hollyleaf set off towards the smoking doorway. She locked her jaw in a grimace, _I hope he's okay._ Lionblaze did a double take, eventually following his sister. The smoke was thick, a grey river that washed over them; it smelled foul. Again Hollyleaf wondered how a fire could have possibly started, her heart ready to beat out of her chest as they stepped through the doorway. Taking one last look at Lionblaze she nodded her head and started running down the hallway, trying to hold her breath.

"I can see the library!" she shouted, covering her mouth and nose with her hand. Indeed she could, however she could see the beginnings of orange flames starting to lick at the entrance. She gasped when a sudden _whoosh_ sent the flames higher, reaching into the library. Inside, was a horrified Jayfeather, his mouth open with a snarl. He was staring at a figure standing in front of the doorway, blocking his exit. Hollyleaf gasped, realising it was an adult, _a teacher! They'll save him!_ She couldn't recognise who it was, the smoke and vibrant flames were causing black spots to swim in front of her eyes, which were watering. She felt nauseous, and knew that they couldn't stay for much longer before either the fire engulfed them or she fainted. Lionblaze appeared to be suffering from the same symptoms, his golden-blonde hair was dirty with ash that the smoke produced. The heat was quickly getting more intense, Hollyleaf tried to call out, her throat dry and her lips cracked.

"Jayfeather!" the fire was roaring, but she saw her brother's blind gaze turn to her and he shouted something which Hollyleaf couldn't hear, but Lionblaze could.

"He said that he's trapped! He's blocking the exit!"

" _Who_ is?" Suddenly Hollyleaf gasped as the figure turned around, her hands tingled at the sight. She recognised the teacher now, she definitely did. His icy blue eyes flashed at her, he raised his eyebrows and smirked. _Why is he doing this? What's going on?_ The black spots became bigger, Hollyleaf could feel her whole body sweating from the heat as she heard another shout, this time from the direction of the evacuated hall.

"Ashfur! Get away from them!" Ashfur turned around and his grin widened, staring at the person down the hall. Hollyleaf couldn't make out who it was through the thick haze of smoke and fire; but Ashfur obviously did.

"Well," he blinked slowly, "look who it is."

 **MWAHAHAH! Oh, so another cliffie... Did you all like that little Squirrelflight POV? I wanted to add a bit of variety, also, remember to review to get the special chapter! Two more reviews to go! Thanks for reading this chapter and hope you are enjoying the story so far!**

 **-Mistle**


	9. Confessions (and fire)

**So, last chapter ended on a cliffie... What will happen after the fire? If you guys would like some more different point of view chapters, just tell me in the reviews. Also; one more review until the special chapter! If I get a review on this chapter the special one will be chapter 10!**

 **Chapter Nine**

Hollyleaf looked at Ashfur, his eyes were wild with fury, but his face remained hard like stone as the figure at the end of the corridor slowly walked through the smoke, covering their mouth with their hand. The thick grey gas was clogging Hollyleaf's throat, and seeping into her eyes, blinding her, but she had recognised the person's voice.

"Squirrelflight!" Hollyleaf was choking on the smoke; she saw her mother turn to face her and Lionblaze, her green gaze sorrowful. She nodded,

"Ashfur!" She snarled at the demented teacher, "Let them get out!" Ashfur laughed, his eyes reflecting the flames as Hollyleaf coughed, clutching onto Lionblaze. Jayfeather was making no attempt to leave the burning library, knowing that he wouldn't be able to bypass the taller, stronger teacher.

"Brambleclaw isn't here to protect them now." he laughed again as Lionblaze bravely stepped towards him,

"What have you done with our father?" Ashfur laughed again then glared at Lionblaze, his teeth glinting.

"Why would I waste my time with Brambleclaw?" Squirrelflight squared up to Ashfur, her eyes filled with rage. She growled,

"You're quarrel with Brambleclaw has to stop!" Ashfur looked suprised, his face changing as he stepped away from Squirrelflight, looking her up and down.

"Oh," he sneered, "I have no quarrel with Brambleclaw. It's not his fault he fell in love with someone as faithless as you. My quarrel is with _you,_ Squirrelflight." Hollyleaf gasped, she had no idea what was going on. Suddenly, she remembered the photo she had found that fell out of Squirrelflight's diary, it was of her and Ashfur when they were teenagers. _That's why he's angry, she chose Brambleclaw over him!_ Jayfeather was panicking inside the library, Hollyleaf decide it was time for action, she tried to sidestep around Ashfur but he caught her by the arm, glaring at her with hatred.

"That was moons ago," Squirrelflight's voice had changed from angry to confused, "I didn't know you were still upset." Ashfur let go of Hollyleaf, who sprinted inside the burning library, pieces of wood and flaming plastic falling from the ceiling as she grabbed Jayfeather's wrist. She led him back out into the smoky hallway, where Ashfur was snarling,

"Upset? I'm not _upset!_ You have no idea how much pain I'm in everyday!" he grinned, his expression wild as he grabbed Jayfeather and Hollyleaf again, his grip cutting into her wrist as he pulled them through the entrance of the fast disintergrating room. Lionblaze soon met the same treatment, "and now," Squirrelflight shrieked, "you can watch your precious children burn, so you can feel the same pain I did! I failed once with Firestar and the trap by the lake, I won't fail again!" Hollyleaf, horrified looked around at the collapsing building, Lionblaze was protecting Jayfeather. Suddenly Squirrelflight spun around to face Ashfur, her face desperate,

"You won't hurt me that way! They're not my children!" Ashfur shook his head as Hollyleaf spun, numb with shock. She looked over at Lionblaze and Jayfeather, who had the same reaction. Ashfur's voice was choked with disbelief,

"You're lying!"

"I'm not," Squirrelflight's tone was cool, she glanced at Hollyleaf, who was shaking, "no one knows, not even Brambleclaw. Everyone in Pebbleshore is blind to the truth, I fooled them all." Hollyleaf stared at Squirrelflight, _she has to be lying! We are her children! We are!_ Ashfur hissed, but then he smiled again,

"How do you think everyone will react when I tell them? What will your father, Leafpool... _Brambleclaw_ all say?" Squirrelflight's expression turned again, obviously shocked at Ashfur's response.

"Y-you'll tell them?" she stuttered.

"Of course! Now, I'll let these children- whoever they belong to-" he motioned over to Hollyleaf and her brother's, all standing huddled near the entrance of the flaming library, "- live, but be prepared, because I _will_ reveal the truth, and then everyone will know how faithless you really are! You're pain is only just beginning, Squirrelflight!" with that he spun and ran back down the hallway, away from the scene. Hollyleaf coughed, her brain slow with shock. She felt Lionblaze gently drag her and Jayfeather out of the library, and then quickly down towards the exit; leaving Squirrelflight alone in the flames.

* * *

Hollyleaf was sitting inside a police car, an orange shock blanket bunched around her shoulders. She felt like she was about to collapse as she rest her head against the hard seat. Thoughts muddled around her head as she stared out of the frosted window, she could vaugely see Lionblaze and Jayfeather being questioned by a Shadow Division police officer. Behind them was Squirrelflight, intensely staring at the conversation searching for any trace of what had just happened to arise. Hollyleaf knew her brothers were smart enough to keep it to themselves; although she could feel the secret growing inside her, bursting to get out. _I just can't believe it. Fifteen years. Fifteen years she kept this from us, from everyone!_ Suddenly Hollyleaf shivered as a new question opened in her head,

If Squirrelflight wasn't lying, then who are our parents?

.

 **ugh, this chapter was sooooooo short! Sorry about that, but my next chapter will be much longer; hehe. I hope you all enjoyed this very short chapter, the next one will be up soon! Thanks for reading and don't forget to review!**

 **-Mistle**


	10. Flashbacks

**Special chapter time! I got the reviews, so here we go. On with the chapter!**

 **Chapter ten**

Ashfur was having a bad day, he'd just gotten another failed paper back from his college lecturer, who seemed like he wanted him to fail in life. Even worse, news of Squirrelflight Evans' pregnancy had just reached him. Life couldn't get any more disappointing.

"Hey- Ashfur!" he grimaced as Brambleclaw Carter knocked on the door to his small, one roomed apartment in his college building. He managed a half-smile and waved him in. Damn him.

"Brambleclaw." his voice was cold, he had to fight to keep a snarl down, "what are you doing here?" Brambleclaw smiled, his brown eyes searching for any sign of warmth in Ashfur's blue ones.

"Well, I just came to say bye... I mean, I'll see you at graduation and everything, but it's just with everything going on I'm really busy and-"

"It's fine." Ashfur raised his eyebrow, Brambleclaw had always been better than him at everything. Better at sports, better at school, better at getting girls to actually like him, and not just leave him with one blink of an eye and a half-assed apology-

"Cool, well, I'd better be on my way. Squirrelflight's leaving to go on a business trip with Leafpool soon and I'm dropping her at the airport." Suddenly Ashfur became interested,

"Isn't she pregnant? Won't a business trip be too much stress for the baby?" there was a sneer in his voice that Brambleclaw didn't detect, or if he did, didn't show it.

"Well it's at a very early stage in the pregnancy, so hopefully everything will be fine." Ashfur nodded, truthfully he didn't care if Squirrelflight went away or not; there was less chance of seeing her and having painful feelings resurface. _And the more stress that baby has, the better!_ The two exchanged farewells and Brambleclaw walked out of his room, heading back down the hallway. Ashfur stared at the beige carpet beneath his feet, sitting back down at the carboard box he called his desk. He was graduating from college in three weeks, he had decided to become a teacher; that way he would never have to see Squirrelflight or Brambleclaw at work. It was just a shame that he hated children.

 **[Two years earlier]**

"Okay, team! It's our final game against the Shadows! Let's win it!" Brambleclaw stood in front of the Thunders football team, Ashfur was next to him as deputy captain. He could see Squirrelflight and Soreltail at the edge of the crowd, listening.

"Now, Birchfall, Thornclaw and Ashfur in defence! Then I want Spiderleg in goal and Brackenfur and Cloudtail as midfielders. Ashfur and I will be strikers!"

"Brambleclaw!" Spiderleg shook his head, "You've assigned Ashfur to two positions! What's he supposed to do, split himself in half?" Brambleclaw shook his head in embaressment,

"Oh, damn!" he exclaimed, looking beside him, "sorry Ashfur, you can-" Ashfur jumped as Squirrelflight hissed,

"Ashfur, speak up for yourself instead of standing there like a tree stump!" Ashfur was shocked, he didn't know what was causing her to be like this. Well, apart from the fact that he'd been ingnoring her for the past year; after their brief spell of dating had ended.

"Well, sorry-" he began, only to be interuppted by Squirrelflight again,

"'Sorry' doesn't win the match!" Brambleclaw coughed, trying to rest a and on his girlfriend's shoulder, she shook it off.

"Squirrelflight, it's no big deal," he began, she shook her head at the team,

"-And I'm sure you'd all be _happy_ to be in Brambleclaw's position right now?" the team remained silent, Ashfur staring at her angrily. She'd just embaressed him in front of everyone! Brambleclaw coughed again, this time more forcefully,

"Squirrelflight, thats enough. I'm just stressed, like everyone else. It's nothing big!" He turned to Ashfur, whose pale skin had turned pink, "sorry, Ashfur, you can be a striker. Birchfall and Thornclaw will be fine by themselves in defence." He turned to the team as Sorreltail led an angry Squirrelflight away. "Okay, Thunders, lets win this match!" the team attempted to cheer, most still shocked by Squirrelflight's outburst.

"Very well." Ashfur's voice was cool as he stared at Brambleclaw, then at Squirrelflight; who was sitting with Sorreltail on the bleachers, her expression still angry. He'd had enough of her being angry with him, _if anyone, I should be angry! She broke my heart!_ Ashfur walked over to take up his position next to Brambleclaw, who still looked sheepish. _Yeah, I should be the one who's angry._

 **[]**

Ashfur stood in the dark, a small glow errupting from the flames before him. He was standing in the forest in the dead of night, about three hours after he had seen Brambleclaw. His face was illuminated by the small fire that he had lit, he had a handful of photos and letters with him as he took one out he had one last look before he fed it to the fire. He took out another, this one yellow with age, it was dated back from when he was thirteen; from nearly ten years ago. In the photo stood him and a girl of the same age, with dark red hair and green eyes. They were both smiling. Ashfur snarled and crumped it up, throwing it into the fire along with the others.

"Good riddance." he muttered, the warmth from the flames making him feel alive. Ashfur loved fires, seeing the flames rise up, so powerful and uncontrolled. They were free, unlike him. Eventually he finished with the photos and put the fire out, leaving behind only the glowing embers and the grey powder he had been named after.

 **Thanks for reading and reviewing guys!**

 **-Mistle**

.


	11. Plan A

**Chapter Eleven**

Jayfeather was standing in front of his two siblings, his arms crossed. His blind blue eyes stared accusingly at them;

"I don't know how you two expect me to go back and play happy families as if nothing ever happened!" Lionblaze shook his head,

"Where else are we supposed to go? We can't tell anyone what happened!"

"There's nowhere we _can_ go!" Hollyleaf shrieked, "what are we going to do?" Jayfeather sat down, shaking, and put his head in his hands.

"I don't know." he mumbled, "I really don't know." Lionblaze paced up and down the road they were standing by the side of. They were about a mile away from the school, in the centre of Thunder division. Squirrelflight was nowhere to be seen.

"Look," Lionblaze stopped, turning around, "we don't have to pretend. We'll go back home. We'll act like everything's normal and we'll go from there." Hollyleaf raised her eyebrows at her brother's terrible plan, she didn't like the mention of 'acting like everything's normal'. _Why? Nothing's normal anymore! It never will be again..._

"That's a terrible idea," Jayfeather spoke her thoughts, "how can we act _normal?_ And anyway, it's only a matter of time before Ashfur tells everyone. What are we going to do then?" Lionblaze looked stunned, he continued to pace. Hollyleaf clecnched her fists,

"Do you think he was serious? Is he really going to tell everyone?" she whispered. Jayfeather rest his pale hand on her shoulder,

"Well, I hate to say it... Yes. He's nuts. He wants to hurt Squirrelflight- and he probably doesn't care that he's taking us down with her- and the best way to hurt her is to reveal her biggest secret." Lionblaze slammed his fist into a nearby tree, making Hollyleaf jump. He growled,

"We have to stop him! Not only will it hurt Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw if the secret gets out, but what will happen to us? We might not even be from Pebbleshore!" Hollyleaf whimpered, the thought of who her real parents were hadn't fully crossed her mind until now, _we might not be from Pebbleshore... Oh Stars..._

"Well that's Squirrelflight's problem." she hissed, "not ours." Suddenly Jayfeather clicked his fingers,

"I've got an idea! Hollyleaf, give me your phone!" Hollyleaf quickly took her phone out from her pocket; the plastic was slightly melted, but it still turned on. Jayfeather told her to dial their landline. It rung once before Squirrelflight picked up, talking frantically.

"Hollyleaf! Is that you? I'm so sorry; I should have told you before but I couldn't-"

"It's Jayfeather." his voice was cool, "we just rang you to say that we're staying with Leafpool tonight. We'll call you again tomorrow." There was silence, before Squirrelflight stuttered,

"Will... Will you come back home soon?" Hollyleaf stared at Jayfeather, his face was creased with pain.

"We don't know." He then hung up, passing the phone back to Hollyleaf, who looked suprised.

"We're going to Leafpool's house?" her voice was numb, all feeling sucked away by the power of the fire. Lionblaze nodded,

"That's actually... Not a bad idea. We should get going." He turned, a look of pure determination on his face. Hollyleaf sighed and followed her brother, holding Jayfeather by the arm.

* * *

"Well you can stay as long as you need." Leafpool's face was still puzzled, "So, Squirrelflight is okay with this?"

"Totally." Lionblaze lied, his smile innocent. "she just wants to have some time to recover after the fire." Leafpool nodded, leading the three to the spare room. It was exceptionally clean, just like everything else in Leafpool's house, a bed with neatly folded sheets stood in one corner, and a paisley print sofa in the other.

"Sorry it's not much, but if you need anything I'm just down the hall." Hollyleaf nodded and she stepped inside the room. Leafpool went back to hers and closed the door behind her. When Hollyleaf further insoected the room she found a dresser and a wadrobe, neither with a speck of dust or dirt on them. When she opened the dresser she found a book, titled 'The advanced Medic's guide'. It was in perfect condition. Jayfeather snorted when he saw her holding it,

"Leafpool's always making me study that. On my first day of the Medic course she made me memorize the code." Hollyleaf nodded, she too had seen the book before; when she first started high school she had trained as a medic for about a month, before switching her course. She opened the book, inside the front cover was the Medic's code:

1\. A medic cannot take on a mate.

2\. A medic cat cannot have children.

3\. A medic will never let personal feelings get in the way of their duties.

4\. Medics are outside Division rivalry.

5\. A medic must be able to interpret signs and phrophecies.

6\. A medic must do everything in their power to save a sick or injured person.

7\. Medics must aid their Division leaders with making important decisions.

Hollyleaf's mind flashed back to when she started her Medic training, Leafpool had spent days drilling this code into her head. She closed the immaculate book and put it back in its place, before sitting down on the sofa. Jayfeather scratched his nose,

"So, what do we do now?" Lionblaze lay his head on the beige wall, his brown eyes half closed,

"I'm so tired," he mumbled, "but I don't think I can get to sleep. We have to come up with a plan; we can't stay at Leafpool's house forever." Hollyleaf nodded, she stood up and opened the wardrobe; it was pretty much empty apart from some neatly folded towels and a large wooden box. Unlike everything else in the room, it was dusty and looked like it had been ignored for years. A large metal padlock sat on the opening. Lionblaze came over to join her,

"Woah!" he exclaimed, "what's up with the dust on that thing? It's almost like Leafpool forgot it's here!" Jayfeather called from his seat,

"What is it?" when Hollyleaf explained he nodded, "oh, Leafpool knows it's there. When I asked her about it a few years ago she totally freaked and said that she'd lost the key. It made me think that she was hiding something in there." He snorted when Lionblaze spoke.

"Let's open it!"

"I just said _she lost the key._ We can't!" Hollyleaf stared at the box, it seemed unlikely that Leafpool was the kind of person to keep an empty, dusty box in the back of her spare room's wardobe then flip out when someone asked her about it. There had to be something in there.

"I know how we can open it." she turned to Lionblaze, "but I'll need to make a call."

 **Well there you go! I'm so sorry I was so inactive for the past few days! I was lazy and unmotivated but I promise it won't happen again! So, thank you to the Great Nurpsy for advertising my story on their page, (go check out some of their stories!) and then to Storm-Willow and Silver and Silver's fangs for reviewing it afterwards! Woah, I didn't really know what I was writing this chapter, I was really tired and I'm going on holiday tomorrow but I hope you all enjoyed this chapter anyway! It was mainly dialogue and it was pretty short so I promise a longer one with more speech next time!**

 **\- Mistle**


	12. Breezepelt

**Hey guys! So I'm on holiday right now and let's just say the wifi isn't the best round here so I might struggle to get the next few chapters out whilst here, my target is to get maybe three out in the next two weeks, though I can't promise! Also, it's great to see how many more reviews this story has been getting, thank you all so much! Ok, so on with the chapter!**

 **Chapter Twelve**

There was fire everywhere, its hungry flames licked at the entrance, engulfing it. A figure was standing before her, blue eyes brimming with hatred. They reached out a long, pale hand and grabbed her by the wrist; dragging her towards the inferno.

"I'm going to tell everyone the truth. Be ready, you don't have long." Hollyleaf woke up, dripping with sweat. Early morning sunlight shone through the small window in the room. Jayfeather was curled up tightly in a ball on the bed, whilst Lionblaze was sprawled out on the floor. Birds sang outside, the frosty morning starting to thaw. The box had been pulled out of its hiding spot and was now on the floor by the wardrobe. Once again Hollyleaf wondered what secrets lay in its grasp; in a few hours she would have the means to find out. No more secrets.

* * *

Breezepelt flicked through his book one last time, casting a glance out of the window into the cold, dark night. Across the street, on the Thunder Division side, the house where the Carter family lived stood. One light was on in the upstairs window.

He had heard about the fire at the school on the night of the dance, although he hadn't gone. Apparently the school was now undergoing extensive repairs so it could open again after the holiday. Suddenly, the front door slammed, making Breezepelt jump; his father was home, and he was drunk again, by the sound of it. He tried to ignore the sound of his parents arguing below him, he'd had a lot of practice over the years. A loud shattering sound made him look up, pricking his ears for any conversation.

"Be careful, that's Breezepelt's stuff!"

"Oh who cares? It's just Breezepelt." Crowfeather snorted, as Breezepelt felt a weight drop inside of him. He was used to his father making comments like that, but it didn't mean that they hurt any less. All through his apprenticeship Breezepelt had strived to make him proud, but nothing worked. Crowfeather even seemed to prefer his apprentice over his son.

Nightcloud looked shocked, she stood in front of the stairs, as if trying to stop the comment from reaching Breezepelt.

"Shut up, he might hear you!"

Crowfeather rolled his eyes, and mimicked Nightcloud; "Oh, poor Breezepelt! What if he hears? It might hurt his feelings!" he laughed, "Stars, what is he, like Seventeen? Do you really have to keep protecting him?"

Breezepelt flinched, he knew that Nightcloud wasn't going to take that well. She straightened her back and stared coldly at Crowfeather,

"He's _Fifteen._ Although, I guess you can hardly remember his birthday since you weren't here!"

Crowfeather grinned, obviously enjoying her reaction, "That was one time."

"No," Nightcloud tightened her fists, looking like she was about to throw a punch in her husband's direction, "there have been many, _many_ times when you haven't been around. Let's take... Breezepelt's football matches, or... His apprentice ceramony! How do you think that made him feel?" Breezepelt shivered, he hated it when his parents fighted, especially when he knew that he was one of the causes.

Crowfeather narrowed his eyes, "Please, I never even wanted kids! Or at least, not with _you_." Nightcloud gasped, she took a menacing step forwards. Breezepelt quickly stood up and skidded down the stairs to stand inbetween his parents, Crowfeather smiled faintly.

"Why hello there. What can we do for you?" Breezepelt shook his head as Nightcloud pulled him back,

"See, he heard you!" she turned to Breezepelt, "go back to your room. Your father and I are just-"

"Why don't you let him stay?" Crowfeather smiled, his black hair falling over his eyes, "maybe then he can see what his mother's really like." Nightcloud snarled,

"I don't need to reply to that. Breezepelt's known what his father's like for years. do you know the reason I took him out of school after his first year? Because he was bullied! Because of you!" Crowfeather snorted again, his dark blue eyes disbelieving.

"Bullied? Because of me? That's crap!"

Nightcloud turned slightly away from Breezepelt, "It's not! Because you ran off with that Thunder Division Medic years ago, Breezepelt got pushed around by the other kids!"

Crowfeather narrowed his eyes down to slits, "What, are you _jealous?_ " Nightcloud growled,

"Jealous has nothing to do with it. Why would I be jealous of some Thunder Division asshole?"

Crowfeather twitched, his gaze iced over, "Don't talk about her like that!" Breezepelt wiped his forehead, he had heard rumors about his father's past flames, but he had never heard Nightcloud talk about it directly. It stung.

"Oh, so you expect me to speak well of a woman who my husband had a fling with, and is still _mooning_ over _Sixteen_ years later!" Nightcloud hissed, her eyes filled with anger and regret. Breezepelt could feel hot tears building up, threatening to spill; this would usually be the time when he went and hid in his room and waited for Nightcloud to retreat, and Crowfeather to sleep on the couch. However, there was something different tonight, Nightcoud had a look in her eye; it was venomous.

"Crowfeather Moore, when I met you I thought that you actually _liked_ me, and that you werne't just using me to cover up the fact that you still had a thing for that Thunder Division woman. But now, I can see that you don't love me, or Breezepelt, so _I_ would love it if you left. I'll have your stuff packed by tomorrow, you can come pick it up then." Nightcloud was trembling, Crowfeather looked shocked and Breezepelt's throat seemed to close up, making it hard to breathe. Crowfeather nodded,

"Where am I supposed to go?" his gaze turned to Brezepelt, who met it. He clenched his jaw, even closer to tears. Nightcloud sat down at the table, her head in her hands,

"I don't know and, honestly, I don't care. As long as it's away from us."

"I'm leaving,"

"Good," Breezepelt suddenly spoke up, his voice shaky, "you don't deserve her." Crowfeather brushed his hand through his hair, his eyes cloudy from the large amount of alcohol Breezepelt assumed he had in his system. He shook his head and stumbled out of the door, Breezepelt following him.

"Goodbye." he mumbled, "I guess... I guess I'm sorry for not being there and stuff. I hope I can make it up to you, one day." It was a meager apology, but Breezepelt nodded.

"I think you should go now." Crowfeather coughed and stumbled down the front porch steps, off into the night. Breezepelt felt his heart thumping in his chest, watching his father leave, he turned to go back inside where Nightcloud still sat.

"He's gone." Breezepelt trembled,

"I'm sorry." Nightcloud looked up at him, her face stained with tears, "I never should have waited this long to kick him out. He was poisoning your life." Breezepelt, unsure what to do, turned away and padded back up the stairs. He was tired, but a sense of relief washed over him as the phone rang. He picked it up, ready to tell Crowfeather to leave them alone, but instead another voice spoke.

"Breezepelt? Is that you?"

"Hollyleaf? Can I help you with something?"

"Is this a bad time?" Breezepelt looked down the stairs, where his mother was quietly sobbing,

"Uh, no. So, what did you want?" Hollyleaf's voice was surrounded by static.

"So, this will sound strange, but I need a favour. Do you happen to own a pair of bolt cutters?"

 **So... What did you all think of Breezepelt's little chapter? dramatic huh? I wanted to give him and his family a bit of depth and to see what life at home is like for him. Yay or nay? And where do you think our favourite father will go now? Heheh, I think I like writing fight scenes too much for my own good... Also I'm sorry I couldn't get this chapter out yesterday, I was super busy! But I hope you all enjoyed and don't forget to review!**

 **-Mistle**


	13. A disappointing discovery

**Woah! Chapter thirteen! So, this is where things start to go a little downhill for the trio... Hehe, so enjoy the chapter and don't forget to review! On with the chapter! (My new catchphrase?)**

 **Chapter thirteen**

"Hurry up!" Hollyleaf hissed through her teeth, Lionblaze glared up at her,

"I'm trying! It's hard to cut!" he grimaced and wiggled the padlock again. Jayfeather rolled his eyes at the pair; he was on the lookout for Leafpool. He couldn't do much looking though, so he was listening for her.

"This is stupid," he muttered, "so what if Leafpool has a padlocked box, what if it's her bank statements? Or her morgage papers? This will all be for nothing."

"There's something in there, I know it." Hollyleaf nodded and Lionblaze pressed harder on the bolt cutters. Breezepelt had thankfully delivered them that same morning, after Hollyleaf had called him last night. Apparently they had belonged to his father, Breezepelt had said that he wouldn't be needing them any time soon.

"Hey, guys, I'm dropping you guys back home in five minutes." Leafpool was approaching. Unfortunately Hollyleaf and her brothers were being taken back to Squirrelflight, Lionblaze had told them to go with it and that they would figure out a plan later.

"Distract her!" Hollyleaf muttered to Jayfeather, he hissed quietly but stepped outside to meet Leafpool.

"Leafpool?" he didn't wait for a reply, "I wanted to ask you about a new herb Mousefur told me about. I was talking to her last week when I was on community duty, and she said that years ago a herb got mixed into her poultice, I was just wondering what it was so I could use it in my training. She said it had a frosty taste?"

Hollyleaf helped Lionblaze to squeeze the bolt cutters one final time before the padlock finally snapped, causing a large cloud of dust to fly up and settle on the carpet. Lionblaze opened the trunk, a pile of yellowed papers lay at the bottom, with a singular metal key on top. Hollyleaf sifted through the papers, Jayfeather was right; they were all bank statements. She sighed in disappointment, but before Lionblaze shut the box she quickly grabbed the key. It felt cool in her hands as she shoved it into her pocket.

"What are we going to do with the rest of it?" Lionblaze looked up at her. She shook her head and stuffed the padlock into the box, with her brother's help they managed to get it back into the wardrobe and shut the doors. Leafpool entered the room, Jayfeather trailing behind her,

"Uh, sorry, I have no idea what herb that could have been! Probably just a mistake!" Jayfeather obviously couldn't see the shifty expression on Leafpool's face, but Hollyleaf ignored it and stood up.

"We're ready." she smiled, Leafpool looked around the room, her eyes widening when she saw the dust on the carpet.

"Okay," she mumbled, "I'll be down in a minute." Hollyleaf and Lionblaze backed out of the door, grabbing Jayfeather on the way. They bounded down the stairs, when they reached the front door Hollyleaf hissed,

"All I found was a useless key." she pulled it out of her pocket to show Jayfeather, he felt it with his hands and narrowed his eyes.

"It might not be useless. It feels like the key to Leafpool's filing cabinet, the one in her office." Hollyleaf didn't know how he could tell that when he'd never seen it before but he was certain.

"Well let's go see what's in the filing cabinet!" Lionblaze bounced excitedly, "if she had to lock the key away, then there _must_ be something inside!" Jayfeather turned around;

"We don't have time. We need to come back when Leafpool's not around." At the sound of her name, she came down the stairs; peeling off a pair of rubber gloves.

"Sorry about that," she smiled awkwardly, "I was just clearing up a little." She ushered Hollyleaf and her brothers out of the door, into the crisp air of the winter afternoon.

* * *

"I'm sorry." Squirrelflight was sat at the table, her head ducked as Lionblaze stood angrily in front of her.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Squirrelflight looked up, her eyes were bright with tears. Hollyleaf turned away, trying to ignore the ache in her heart as she looked at the woman she had always called her mother.

"I couldn't!"

"Who are our real parents?" Jayfeather's tone was calm, Squirrelflight shook her head.

"I can't tell you."

"You can tell us, you just won't!" Lionblaze growled. Hollyleaf groaned inwardly, t _his isn't working!_

"Please," Squirrelflight whispered, "you can't tell anyone about this." she looked pleadingly at Lionblaze, who sighed.

"We won't. It would be worse for us than you if this got out. Just don't expect things to be like the way they were before." He stormed off, Jayfeather following him. Hollyleaf looked one last time at Squirrelflight's relieved face and hissed quietly. She padded off upstairs, walking towards her room. Lionblaze and Jayfeather intercepted her on the way.

"It's decided." Lionblaze's eyes shined, "we're going back to Leafpool's house tonight."

 **DUN DUN DUHHH! Ok, it's official! We have liftoff!**

 ***silence***

 **ok, fine then! But seriously, IT'S ABOUT TO GO DOWN! *cackles* sorry for the short chapter and long wait, and... Ok I have no excuse. But watch out for next chapter and thank you all SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH FOR REVIEWING!**

 **\- A hyperactive Mistle**


	14. Criminal intent

**Ok! So, chapter 14 and I'm still a disorganised mess that has no idea where this story is going! Well, this chapter is gonna be another one where I take ages to write it and there's loads of fillers, sneaking around and did I mention fillers? I'm also going back home from holiday today so there will finally be Regular updates! *the crowd cheers* On with the chapter!**

 **Chapter 14**

"Ouch! Jayfeather get your leg off me!" Lionblaze hissed angrily, his feet dangling about half a metre off the ground. Hollyleaf stood anxiously, watching her brothers' attempting to climb down from the window, she rocked back and forth on her feet. It woudn't be long before Squirrelflight heard the noise and they were caught. Jayfeather was hanging precausiously over the window ledge,

"Why don't we just use the door?" he muttered sourly, "at least then we don't end up with broken bones!" Lionblaze dropped to the floor with a loud thud, and cursed; nursing his ankle.

"Just hurry!" Hollyleaf whispered, "we don't have much time!" the silver moonlight shone on the dewy grass, illuminating the frosty landscape as Jayfeather muttered something inaudible and slowly lowered himself towards the ground. Lionblaze then led the three out into the road, all the lights in the street's houses were out, only the faint yellow glow of the lampposts remained. Hollyleaf stared around, the place she had called home her whole life suddenly looked so different, foreign. It was if she were staring at it through someone else's eyes. _I am. I don't feel like myself anymore._

"Okay," Lionblaze turned to the rest of his siblings, "here's the plan: Hollyleaf and I go through the filing cabinet and take any... _Incriminating evidence._ Jayfeather be on lookout in case Leafpool comes down." Jayfeather laughed.

"Are you joking? I'm on _lookout?_ How am I supposed to look for Leafpool if I can't see anything?" Lionblaze looked annoyed,

"It's just a metaphor. Fine then, _listen_ for Leafpool." without another word he marched off, leaving deep footprints in the fast falling snow. Hollyleaf took Jayfeather's arm and followed Lionblaze, who was walking at an unreasonably fast pace. Jayfeather tapped her shoulder and whispered,

"What are we expecting to find in there? For all we know Squirrelflight could be hiding something right under our noses, where does Leafpool come into it?" Hollyleaf shook her head as a cloud of doubt started to creep into her mind.

"Well," she whispered back, "Leafpool's obviously gone to a lot of trouble to lock away the key to that filing cabinet, and Squirrelfight wouldn't risk keeping anything where we might find it. Also, her and Squirrelflight are so close, Leafpool has to know about her secret. She would have needed someone to confide in, and who better than her sister?" Jayfeather nodded slowly.

"I see you're point, but if Squirrelflight didn't even tell Brambleclaw, why would she tell Leafpool?"

"I've just got a feeling." Jayfeather laughed loudly,

"You and your freaking feelings! If we get caught then I'll let you and your _feelings_ take the blame!" Lionblaze turned around,

"Be quiet!" he rolled his eyes, "this is supposed to be a _secret_ mission!" Jayfeather laughed again. They reached the end of the street, turning left towards the junction where Forest Avenue was, where Leafpool lived. They had been walking for another ten minutes when suddenly a bus pulled into the stop in front of them, with two people getting out. Lionblaze growled, about to jump into the nearby bushes until Jayfeather whispered to him,

"It's okay, they won't recognise us." Hollyleaf didn't realise what he was talking about until she saw the faces of the two people. There was one woman and one man, they obviously weren't Pebbleahore citizens, and they looked terrified.

"Excuse me?" one of them stuttered to the three children, "do you know which way it is to the town hall?" Hollyleaf quickly replied, trying to keep her voice normal. _We're just out for an evening stroll, nothing strange here..._

"Do you mean the Thunder Division town hall?" she asked, wondering where they were from. The woman nodded,

"Yes! Do you know which way it is?"

"Uh- take the next right, then go left and when you reach the supermarket go left again. It's right ahead, but it won't be open for a couple of hours, only the security-"

"That's fine." The woman smiled, "thank you." she pulled her friend on the arm, "let's go, Frankie." The pair quickly brushed past them without another word, disappearing into the shadows. Lionblaze hissed,

"Who the hell were they? And what did they want with the town hall? Maybe they're Shadow Divisioners in disguise!" Jayfeather shook his head,

"No. They don't live in Pebbleshore. They must be loners." Hollyleaf's eye twitched, had she just directed a pair of vicious loners into the heart of their city? Crap.

"Don't worry about it," Lionblaze shrugged it off, "Firestar can deal with it." With that he continued on his way, Hollyleaf following behind him, still worrying about what she had done.

* * *

"Okay," Lionblaze grinned, "mission impossible, phase one." Hollyleaf didn't know how he could remain so cheerful, every second the realisation of what they had discovered was sinking in deeper, dragging her down with it. "It would have been cooler if I had a crowbar, but there's nowhere that sells them around here, so..." he rummaged around in his pocket, "I just took Leafpool's spare key when she wasn't looking." They were standing in Leafpool's back garden after Lionblaze had attempted to scale the front fence and failed, Hollyleaf could see the pink and orange streaks starting to fill the sky. Dawn was not far away.

"Hurry!" Jayfeather hissed, "Leafpool wakes up at the crack of dawn to do her morning clean!" Lionblaze stuck the key into the back door, hearing a clicking sound he quietly pushed it open. Inside the house was dark, they were now standing in the laundry room. Different disinfectants, antibacterial soaps and other cleaners lined every wall, making the room smell like a hospital. The three creeped slowly into the living room, and then into the office, where the filing cabinet stood. Jayfeather shoved Lionblaze in the ribs.

"There's someone in there." his voice was suddenly high pitched and panicked, he pointed a shaky finger into the living room, "I can hear them." Hollyleaf stiffened and pricked her ears, she too could hear quiet snoring. Slowly, she peeked out from the room, she could make out a sillouette sprawn out on the sofa. Empty bottles of beer and cigarette packets were littered everywhere. Suddenly Hollyleaf wished for the smell of disinfectant.

"I don't know who it is," she whispered to Lionblaze, "but it's a man, and he's out cold from the look of it." Not stopping to wonder who it was she helped Lionblaze pry open the filing cabinet with an ear-splitting screech. They paused, listening for any movement, then continued. Lionblaze had been rummaging around for about a minute when he whispered.

"I think I've found something."

 ***Sigh* such a short chapter, which I took ages to write! And there wasn't as much fighting as I would've liked... Well I guess you can't have everything**! **Tomorrow I shall have the wonder of the laptop back! Whoo! And I'm also going to be trapped at an airport for 6 hours today, so I if I don't get the next chapter written; you have the right to hate me. I have decided to start doing a QOTD! Why? Because it's fun!**

 **QOTD: would you have run away in Hollyleaf's situation? Or would you rmain loyal to the people you thought were your parents? Also, any ideas who our strange sofa crasher is?**

 **AOTD: A difficult one. I probably would have stayed, because they did look after me and everything, but then I might have left as soon as I was old enough.**

 **-Mistle**


	15. The final piece

**Guys, I'm back! My flight was fine, but who cares about that, right? I'm back! Chapter 15... I must say, your replies were all very responsible, however if Hollyleaf, Lionblaze and Jayfeather acted mature then this story would be boring, so... On with the Chapter!**

 **Chapter Fifteen**

"W-we weren't doing anything!" Lionblaze stuttered, holding three yellowing peices of paper in his hands. Hollyleaf was gripping Jayfeather's arm, the man who had been 'out cold' was currently staning in front of them, a glowing cigarette between his teeth.

"Sure, kid." the man had pale skin and dark hair, Hollyleaf swore she had seen him before. "just take what you need and go. I need my beauty sleep." Lionblaze looked stunned.

"Wait, _what?"_ His voice suddenly went higher, "you're not going to tell Leafpool?" The man shrugged, taking a puff of his cigarette.

"Nope. Hell, I don't know who you are or what you want, but you must have a reason to be here and I highly doubt you three are trained burglars so..." he breathed in, "I won't tell Leafpool if you don't."

"Don't tell her what?" Jayfeather asked suspiciously. The man didnt reply, just tapped some ash onto the cream carpet and winked. He then traipsed back into the living room and back onto the sofa, where Hollyleaf heard him snoring again withing seconds.

"Who _was_ that dude?" Lionblaze looked confused, "and why is Leafpool letting him sleep on her sofa?"

"We don't need to worry about that," Jayfeather's voice was impatient, "you said you found something?" Lionblaze nodded.

"Yeah! Well, I think I did." He showed his siblings the peices of paper, Hollyleaf gasped.

"Our birth certificates!" she took them in her hands, all the information seemed to be correct. However at the bottom where it stated the parents, Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw's names were printed.

"This can't be right." she whispered, Jayfeather took them from her shaking hands and ran his fingers over them.

"They're not." he exclaimed, "they've been altered, and they're not even actual birth responded,

"Maybe they don't exist... If Squirrelflight took pity on some passing loner then..." Hollyleaf gritted her teeth, _there's no way we're not Division born! We have to be!_

"Keep looking." she nodded, "we might find something else." Lionblaze ran his hands through the other files on the first shelf, not seeing anything. He then moved onto the second, with no success, and then came to the final draw. He pulled it,

"It's stuck! It feels like it hasn't been opened in years!" Jayfeather leaned down, helping Lionblaze wrench the draw open, with another screech. Lionblaze frantically sorted through the papers until he held something up to the light and squinted.

"Oh Stars..." he whispered. Hollyleaf turned to look at her brother, his face twisted and pale.

"What is it?"

* * *

Leafpool sat up, looking around for the source of the noise. It had been ear-piercing, but it didn't appear to have come from upstairs. She slowly got out of bed, grabbing the first thing she could find to use as a potential weapon. She brandished the hair- straightener in front of her, slowly opening the door. The clock on the landing read five in the morning, the pale dawn could be seen creeping over the horizon. Leafpool strained her ears, she could hear muffled whispers. They seemed to be coming from the living room. _That's where he's sleeping! If anyone finds out about this-_

She was halfway down the stairs when a rustling sound caught her attention, suddenly the voices got louder and Leafpool saw a flash of colour in the living room. She called out nervously,

"C-Crowfeather? Is that you? Come out!" However the figure in the shadows was smaller than Crowfeather, and scrawnier. She covered her mouth with her hand.

"Jayfeather?" she whispered, "what are you doing here-" the boy stepped out of the dark, Lionblaze and Hollyleaf by his side. They all looked shocked and angry; Leafpool's heart raced and she felt cold, they hadn't found them, had they?

"D-does your mother know you're here?" she asked, trying to control the stutter. Lionblaze's gaze hardened, he held up three peices of aged paper that Leafpool immediately recognised. Her heart seemed to stop completely. _What have I done?_

"Yes, she does." Lionblaze paused, snarling, "because she's standing right in front of us. You _liar._ " Leafpool stumbled backwards, her eyes filled with tears. Her children stared at her with a hard gaze, filled with loathing.

"I-I'm so _sorry!_ " she sobbed. Lionblaze shook his head in dispair, running out of the open back door, with his siblings behind him. When they were gone Leafpool fell to her knees, head spinning. _What have I done? What have I done? What have- I need to tell Squirrelflight!_ Her sadness was replaced with fear at the thought of the secret the three had found out, and what they would do to Squirrelflight. She scrambled towards the phone, her shaking hands managing to dial the number. After two long rings she picked up,

"Leafpool, why are you calling me at-" she paused, "five a.m?" Leafpool shrunk back as she heard a shout on the other end of the phone and Squirrelflight replied loudly,

"I'm trying to talk to Leafpool! Can you calm down?" she turned back to the phone, "sorry, that's Brambleclaw." she sounded upset,

"What's wrong, why are you fighting?"

"Oh, he just says that I never talk with him anymore. It's just..." she paused again. Leafpool raised her eyebrows,

"What?" she asked worriedly. Squirrelflight whispered down the phone, making Leafpool's blood freeze.

"The kids found out. I'm so sorry! It was the only way to protect them!" Leafpool interuppted her,

"No, I'm sorry. The kids were just here. They found their birth certificates."

 **Ahh, they're turning into criminals! Haha, next chapter is going to be a bit of a mess... Ok, this chapter is overdue, but I have promised that next chapter will be up on Wednesday. If you want you can PM me to make sure I deliver, heh. Ok!**

 **QOTD: well, what are you're thoughts on Leafpool letting Crowfeather crash on her couch?**

 **-Mistle**


	16. Leafpool's house (again)

**HI. I'm reallyyyy sorry I'm a flaky person and never update. But... It's really getting on my nerves having something unfinished... especially with the fact that I'm halfway through updating and all. SO: I have realised I may NEVER finish Broken, but the least I can do for all my loyal readers is finish updating so the story at least makes sense. So, for those who celebrate, here's a late Christmas present. And for those who don't, here's just... Well, a present...**

 **Chapter Sixteen**

"What is it?" Hollyleaf whispered; her voice seemed to echo around the small, dingy room. Lionblaze's hand shook and he suddenly dropped the thick piece of paper he had been holding. Jayfeather scowled and raised his eyebrows,

"What are you doing-"

"Look!" Lionblaze suddenly growled and clenched his fists, "Just LOOK! They've both been lying to us! They both have!" Hollyleaf's face suddenly flushed with heat- surely he couldn't be talking about... She snatched the paper off the filthy floor where it had dropped and she quickly scanned it. In fact it was not one piece of paper, but three, all with faded cursive writing at the top and a jagged edge at the bottom where they had been ripped. The top piece read as follows:

 _ **Jayfeather Evans**_

 _ **Place of birth: Pebbleshore General Hospital**_

 _ **Date of Birth: 15th October 2000**_

 _ **Mother: Leafpool Evans**_

 _ **F-**_

Hollyleaf blinked, were her eyes deceiving her? That couldn't be right! She frantically took the next piece.

 _ **Lionblaze Evans**_

 _ **Place of birth: Pebbleshore General Hospital**_

A single, warm tear wormed its way out of Hollyleaf's eye and dropped onto the paper, leaving a wet patch. She felt a shiver run through her as she stared at Lionblaze; his fists clenched so tight all the blood had rushed out of them. Jayfeather's sightless eyes narrowed as he stared at his siblings. Finally he broke the silence.

"What does it say?" Lionblaze shook his head viciously and rubbed his temples. Hollyleaf's head spun round and round and her throat clenched. Hundreds of thoughts flooded though her mind all at once, nearly making her stumbled backwards. Jayfeather suddenly yelled,

"What does it SAY?" Lionblaze growled again,

"It's Leafpool! Leafpool! She's our mother!" after a pause, "I hate her. I hate them both." Jayfeather's shoulders dropped as he stared at the floor. He slowly turned to face Hollyleaf and murmured,

"What do we do now?"

"We're leaving. I don't care where we go as long as it's not here." Lionblaze snarled and kicked the now dirty pieces of paper into the corner before turning on his heels and marching out of the room. Hollyleaf pinched her arm. Nothing happened. It was real. She took one last glance at the figure sprawled on the couch and then took Jayfeather's hand, leading him clumsily towards the door. For once, he didn't object but just let his sister guide him. As the pair wavered through the cleaning room Hollyleaf stumbled and knocked over the contents of a shelf with a large _clang!_ She looked around quickly, hoping no one had heard. Suddenly, a creaking sound came from directly above her-

"It's Her!" Jayfeather shrunk backwards, "we have to leave! Quick!" Hollyleaf froze, terror coursing through her like a river. The creaking got louder and more frantic as Jayfeather tugged on her arm. The noise upstairs moved away for a second before a thumping could be heard on the stairs: she was getting closer. Jayfeather tugged harder, dragging Hollyleaf towards the door. She stared at the pink light blossoming outside and quickly snapped out of her trance.

"Quick!" they scrambled through the narrow doorway and slammed the door behind them just as a dark figure stepped into the light.

* * *

Her hands shook, clumsily slamming the keys on the old phone. She frantically willed her sister to pick up. _Ring... Ring... Ring.._

"Leafpool! I have some bad news! I was going to call earlier but I've been having some trouble with Brambleclaw and-" Leafpool clutched the phone, tears streaming down her face,

"S-Squirrelflight! They found the certificates! They came whilst I was asleep and found them a-and-"

"WHAT? Oh no, no, no, no, no, no!"

"What do I do? They've already gone! What if they tell someone? What if everyone finds o-out? I'll be ruined an-and-"

"Keep calm, I'm going to try and find them now!" Leafpool could hear a rustling on the other end of the phone. She sniffed loudly.

"W-what about Brambleclaw? What will he think?"

"He's staying with Tawnypelt tonight." there was a pause, "we had a fight."

"It's all my fault! I should have-"

"None of this is your fault, Leafpool."

 **Mmmm, it feels good to FINALLY update. Also, sorry for any confusion for new readers. Basically, I wrote 23 chapters of Broken, then went on a hiatus, and then came back and decided to rewrite all the chapters before continuing. This is currently me rewriting: so if anything in the story doesn't make sense it's due to this.**

 **QOTD: Would you have taken criminal action in Holly and Leo's situation? Taken a more direct approach? Left it alone?**

 **AOTD: Hmm... I probably would've been more direct, I'm too lazy to do all that sneaking around! I also would've been tired by all the lying by that point, so I would've just wanted some answers, ya know?**

 **Bye until next chapter!**

 **-Mistle**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen** **and 35 reviews! (it sounds lame, but it's an achievement to me!)** **Thank you guys so much! This really means the world to me! Well, enough with my rambling; Enjoy! By the way, I also have a new story up, my first crossover, about Warriors and Harry Potter (I couldn't resist) so yeah, If you have any spare time go check that out, I guess... (That self advertisement though...) On with the Chapter!**

 **Jayfeather's POV**

I could feel the harsh stone beneath my feet, I could hear the water rippling and washing against the edge of the pool. Flametail's hand brushed against my arm as we slowly trekked towards the Moonpool, Willowshine and Kestrelflight giggled behind us as I rolled my eyes. Willowshine had shot questions at me like a firing squad, asking if I was ok after the fire, were Lionblaze and Hollyleaf alright, did I have to go to hospital; constantly piping up in her annoying squeaky voice. I tried to ignore the other medics as they chatted aimlessly, I heard Littlecloud's voice to the side of me,

"So, Jayfeather, where's Leafpool?" I sighed, my 'wonderful' mentor had stayed behind to tend to one of the elders, who had come down with Whitecough, although maybe it was for the best; it would leave me to get the answers I needed.

"She's tending to Purdy," I coughed, "he's ill." I sensed Littlecloud nod, before continuing to chat to Barkface. I shuffled onto the other side of Flametail, slightly veering away from the main group, I was going to show my hot-headed siblings that I could find out answers, _without_ turning into criminals. I coughed and tapped Flametail on the shoulder, I heard him turn towards me as I spoke,

"Umm, so I need some help identifying this herb I found," I heard him nod his head, so I continued, "It has a frosty taste, like icy grass... Have you heard of it?" I sensed him thinking for a moment, before his frowned,

"I don't think so," he muttered, "maybe you should ask Little-"

"Parsley," I jumped as I heard Littlecloud stand up next to us, "It sounds like parsley, used for stopping a Queen's milk when their children die..." _Or are given away! Of course!_

"Thank you," I nodded respectively, "that's helped very much." _very much._ So, our mother _was_ from Thunder Division, and she had used the herbs to cover up her tracks when she had given us to Squirrelflight! _So, the criteria is; She's close to Squirrelflight, She has access to herbs, She is around the same age as Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw... Ugh! There's no one who fits all that! No- Wait!_ I stiffened as a thought brushed the edge of my mind, edging its way in... No, that was impossible... Completely impo-

"Jayfeather! You there?" Flametail's voice dragged me back to reality, snatching away my thoughts as I nodded and continued to slowly trudge up the steep hill, Flametail's hand guiding me. I could feel the imprints of footsteps in the rock, where hundreds of people had walked before me. The sound of the lapping water was louder now, washing in my eardrums. I wondered what my idiotic brother and sister were doing now... Probably down at the police station after being arrested for breaking and entering. I would show them. I gently sat down at the water's edge, feeling Flametail sit down next to me; Mothwing on my other side. I cupped my hands and scooped up some of the cold water between my hands; I could hear Kestrelflight and Willowshine were still giggling quietly, Flametail was already snoring. I sipped the water, it was cool on my teeth, causing me to shiver. I lay on the cool rock, my hands behind my head. There was finally complete silence as I waited anxiously; the feeling of joy that I was going to see was killed off by my thoughts of our parents. Hopefully Starclan could give me some answers.

* * *

I woke up in a forest, surrounded by towering pine trees, I was completely alone. I wanted to pump my fist, for once I was having my own dream! Not spying on someone else's! I suddenly heard a rustle behind me as I rolled my eyes, trying to drink up the sights of the forest, all the things I never got to witness at home. I turned around, expecting to see one of the other medics, but instead I was met by a flat faced old woman, with dark gray hair, oh joy: Yellowfang.

"Looking as lovely as when I saw you last," I remarked dryly, earning me a sharp glare,

"Zip it, Jayfeather, I have business to attend to, so shut your mouth!" she hissed at me, I rolled my eyes, I could see she hadn't changed.

"What business?" I grimaced as she slapped her hand over my mouth, I frowned and tried to swat her away as she muttered a curse word under her breath,

"Shut up! If Bluestar finds out-"

"Finds out about what? That you're harming an innocent child?"

"No! Listen to me for _once_! The truth must come out! The others don't approve but-" she stared at me, her dark amber eyes narrowed, "I'm trusting you, don't make me regret it." with that she placed something in my hand and stalked off, probably to annoy some other poor person. I felt sorry for them, I really did. I stared down at my palm, in it lay a pitch black feather, soft to the touch. I stared at it for what seemed like forever, I stared into the dense undergrowth; searching for Yellowfang,

"Yellowfang! What does this mean?" I called into the distance, She didn't reply. I didn't need her to, I already knew what it mean. I knew who our parents were. I sat down on the damp ground, the dewy grass staining my black jeans. I stared at the feather. A crow's feather. _Crowfeather._ I had met the warrior once, when we had traveled to the mountains, along with him and his- wait! He had a son! _Breezepaw... No, he would be a warrior by now... Breeze... Breezepelt!_ I tried not to choke as I imagined the skinny boy, we were _related_? I held my head in my hands, I had to tell the others, they would know what to do. For once, as I stared into the distance, the green trees seemed to enclose me, for once... I would be happy to just let Holly and Leo look after me, for once I wouldn't mind being helpless.

 ***Sob* it's so short! But I guess it's better than nothing! We got a bit of insight on Jayfeather, so yeah! I hope you enjoyed! (Don't forget to go check out my other story after this!) GODDAMMIT MISTLE STOP SELF ADVERTISING!**

 **QOTD: Uhh, favourite canon medicine cat?**

 **AOTD: Cinderpelt, she's just fab.**

 **-Mistle**


	18. Chapter 18

***gasp* Mistle is updating twice in a week? Someone slap me! Hehe, I've decided to post the next chapter, because I have no social life; so it was already written! Yeah! Also, to say thank you to all my awesome-sauce reviewers, you can now request a certain POV for the next chapter! Go on... I know you want to... So thank y'all so much for reviewing, the character you request can be a major character, a supporting character... anyone! Enjoy and on with the chapter!**

 **Chapter Eighteen**

The full moon glowed brightly in the starry sky as Hollyleaf stared vacantly out of the window. A slight wind ruffled her hair, her hand was clamped to the top of the open window pane, as if she would never let go. Lionblaze clasped her other hand, holding her fingers tightly as she closed her eyes for the sixth time. She rubbed her temples, trying to rid the headache that had not left her for the past half moon, Firestar and Sandstorm were seated in the front of the car, chatting happily together, about the gathering.

"Yes! I do hope Ashfoot is there! I wanted to ask how Windclan's apprentice's training is going on!" Sandstorm smiled, Hollyleaf turned away, not bearing to see the overjoyed expression on her Grandmother's face. _How can they be so oblivious to everything that is happening?_ The trio were currently staying with their Grandparents, explaining that Squirreflight had a lot of work on her hands, they had been staying there for two weeks... Two weeks and Hollyleaf still couldn't get it around her head. Two weeks and she still hadn't healed. Two weeks and her whole life had been tipped upside down. _It ends tonight. Everything will fall into place._ She felt the cars screech to a stop as she stared down at her shoes. She vaguely saw Firestar and Sandstorm get out of the car; slamming the doors behind them, Hollyleaf felt the cold wind whistle through her hair as she stepped out of the vehicle. Tomorrow was Christmas eve, celebrations had been out of the question whilst away from Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw, and Hollyleaf couldn't find it in her heart to spend one more waking moment with her messed up family. She had put up with them for long enough.

"Do you think Squirrelflight and..." Lionblaze coughed, "will be there?" _I hope so._ Hollyleaf shrugged as she stared around the bustling car park, people from the four clans grinned and smiled as they caught up with each other, all making plans for Christmas. Hollyleaf and her brothers stuck together like glue, trying not to make eye contact as they stumbled over the tree bridge; Jayfeather immediately pulled them into a bush,

"Okay, tomorrow Firestar said he's taking us back to Squirrelflight; what are we going to do?" Lionblaze shuddered s he crouched in the shrubbery, snow falling onto his golden hair,

"I..." he stared at Hollyleaf, amber eyes met green, "I don't know..." Hollyleaf hissed, Leo was meant to be the one that protected them! Not give in at the first obstacle! Hollyleaf breathed in quietly,

"We don't do anything. I have a plan, after tonight everything will be right again." without speaking she shook the frost off her shoulders and stepped into the clearing where a massive crowd of people had gathered to hear the leaders speak. Mistystar began with Riverclan's news, Hollyleaf didn't pay attention as she shuffled closer to the centre of the clearing. From here she could see Brambleclaw seated silently at the foot of the giant oak, Squirrelflight sat next to Sorreltail, and finally; Leafpool, with the other medics, she saw Jayfeather refused to meet her gaze as he barged past the other medics, seating himself next to Flametail. _Leafpool is a traitor to the warrior code, I need to tell the clans, they deserve to know that a traitor is living among them._ She felt a warm tear run down her face as she rubbed her eye with the cuff of her sweater, _I need to tell them before someone else does._ She stared towards where Ashfur was seated with Ferncloud and Dustpelt, staring hungrily at the giant oak. Hollyleaf felt her heart pumping as she shivered, Firestar was about to finish. It was time.

"I have something I would like to say!" She gulped and stood up, facing Firestar, who's green eyes blazed with surprise. Hollyleaf took a step forwards and felt more tears slowly work their way down her face. She shot a quick look at Squirreflight, who had a look of pure terror spread across her face, Ashfur looked surprised, but his blue eyes gleamed with interest. As Hollyleaf stumbled towards the massive oak, she could feel the gazes searing into her back; she knew that warriors didn't speak at gatherings; especially not fifteen year old ones. `Firestar narrowed his eyes,

"I really wish you had spoken with me beforehand," he whispered, Hollyleaf nodded, he sighed, "go on, but pray you don't regret it." _It's too late to turn back now, the damage is already done; the truth must come out._ She steadily clambered up the tree, until she stood on one of the giant roots; from here she could see everyone; Lionblaze and Jayfeather: confused, Squirrelflight and Leafpool: terrified, Ashfur and Brambleclaw: emotionless. All the people who had helped me, been there whilst I had grown up... And I was about to unleash a secret that could ruin their lives. Ruin everything. Firestar watched me carefully as I gulped, trying to look strong.

"Y-You may think you know me and my brothers; Lionblaze and J-Jayfeather." She sniffed as she saw the confused and intrigued gazes of the people surrounding her, Brambleclaw's eyes were narrowed as he looked worriedly at his supposed, 'daughter', Hollyleaf continued; the clearing totally silent,

"Well... Well, you don't! Everything you have been told is a lie!" she heard gasps as the tears streamed down her face, she closed her eyes, waiting for the moment,

"Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight are not our parents." She blinked, people everywhere gasped and shrieked; Brambleclaw's face was distorted as he stood up and faced Squirrelflight; who had a stony expression, masking the terror. He stood up, his fists clenched,

"Squirreflight! Why is she talking such nonsense?" Hollyleaf saw Squirrelflight glance at the children she had raised for fifteen years, her green eyes laced with sorrow as she choked out her reply,

"It's true." she sobbed, "I am not their mother... and- and you are not their father; I'm sorry. I'm so, _so_ sorry." she closed her eyes as Brambleclaw stood, not moving; his Amber eyes were clouded over, as he stood, shocked. Hollyleaf felt sweat pool at her temples as she stared around at the clearing. Everyone stared at her, their eyes filled with shock, murmurs ran round, all accusing eyes were on Hollyleaf.

"Then... Who is?" Brambleclaw was now staring up at Hollyleaf, hurt in his expression, such deep hurt, Squirreflight glared at her, her deep green eyes which Hollyleaf always thought were filled with happiness and joy were causing and hollow,

"Go on," she hissed, "tell them, I kept this secret for moons and I'm not about to reveal it now." _Traitor._

 _"_ Fine _,"_ Hollyleaf hissed, "I'm not afraid of the truth!" _Liar, the truth scares me more than anything_. "Our parents... Our parents are L-Leafpool and Crowfeather of Windclan!" She heard as uproar ran through the crowd, she glanced down at Leafpool, her head was hung in shame, silent tears running down her face as Crowfeather confronted her. Hollyleaf scrambled down the oak, not paying attention to the tear stained faces and terrified expressions of her clan mates: Leafpool, Squirreflight, Brambleclaw, Lionblaze, Jayfeather; all the people she had trusted, all the peoples live's she had ruined. _I'm sorry_. She sprinted through the crowd, shoving past people; they moved out her way as she hissed. She passed her brothers, their faces filled with sorrow as Hollyleaf exited the clearing; leaving behind her family.

 **Woah! Poor Hollyleaf! Hehe, the secret is out! Don't forget to request a POV for next chapter! See y'all next chapter, I hope you enjoyed!**

 **-Mistle**


	19. Chapter 19

**Hey guys! Chapter nineteen here! Ok, so I've decided to throw my updating schedule in the trash, because who needs it, right? It's also my birthday today, so I wanted to get this chapter written so I don't have to worry about it later... so yeah, enjoy and on with the chapter!**

 **Chapter Nineteen**

Hollyleaf felt the ferns brush her hands as she sprinted through the undergrowth; _what have I done? I've ruined everything!_ She couldn't bear to see what was going on back at the gathering, a hollowness encircled her lungs, making it hard to breathe. She heard footsteps running after her, Lionblaze shouting at her to slow down, come back; _where do I go? Starclan help me!_ Hollyleaf saw a dark opening in hollow, she gasped slightly when she realised it must be an entrance to the tunnel, which she and her siblings had assumed was closed up after finding the wind-division kids, she coughed and leaped down the dip, gravel and tiny pieces of rock scattered around her as she entered the dark cavern. She heard Lionblaze screech, she saw Jayfeather's pale blue eyes wide with terror as she turned around to face them,

"I know I did the right thing," she whispered, "but no one will ever understand!" she screeched as she felt a massive weight fall on her chest; suffocating her as a shooting pain exploded in her leg and everything went dark.

 **Breezepelt's POV**

I stared into the darkness, not a single star lit up the sky as I quietly tried to process what had happened. I somehow didn't find it hard to believe that my father had other children, he was a heart-breaking jerk; after all. However, I couldn't bear to see the look on Nightcloud's face as Hollyleaf announced it; she knew all along that Crowfeather had just used her, taken advantage of her, that their love had always been an illusion. But it hurt to see her expression, for it to be real. Even worse, Lionblaze and Jayfeather had later returned to the gathering to announce she was... _Dead._ It was painful to finally have family, for them only to be ripped away from you at the last second. Hollyleaf, my only friend... My _sister,_ was dead. It was just... So hard to process... Now I knew I wasn't alone, I had siblings; but I knew no one else would see it that way, they all thought they were a mistake, _my father's stupid mistake._

"Breezepelt," my mother's soft voice rang from downstairs, "there's someone here to talk to you." I stiffened, it sounded ridiculous... But could it be Hollyleaf? Was she alive? I bounded down the stairs, my heart stopped as I saw it wasn't my sable haired sibling... But in fact Lionblaze and Jayfeather. Nightcloud stood there, her features pinched and her eye sockets hollow, she stepped back into the kitchen; leaving me with my brothers... That word felt so _foreign,_ the only family I had ever known were in Wind division, and I had grown up an only-child. I didn't know how to react when I found out this secret, it had torn apart my life, but somehow saved it as well.

"Hello," I squeaked, _I didn't realise this would be so awkward_ , "I'm... I'm really sorry about..."

"We know." Lionblaze stepped forward, "but we're going to look for her and we want you to come with us."

 **Brambleclaw's POV**

I was in a field, I didn't know how I got there, but I was in a field. I had exited the gathering shortly after the announcement that the children I had raised for fifteen years, were actually not _my_ children. Wow. Big shocker, huh? My head hurt as I sat down, the maize brushing against my arms, how had this all happened? Squirreflight had told me... Squirreflight, she had _lied_ to me; and not just a small lie, a _huge_ lie, one that would affect my life for ever. Brambleclaw, the deputy of Thunderclan, son of Tigerstar, who was lied to by his supposedly 'loyal' wife, and is now a broken wreck. Yeah, that seems about right. It just hurt, all the time I had spent raising them, playing catch with Lionblaze, talking to Jayfeather about his medic course, watching my only daughter grow up into a strong, independent woman. It had all been for nothing. Everything and nothing.

"I could've helped her," I whispered to the dark sky, "but she didn't trust me enough to tell me... Why?" I rubbed my bare hands, it was the middle od December; two days before Christmas, me and Squirrelflight had been fighting beforehand, something we did quite a lot; and believe me, I had countless plates thrown at my head over the years. I smiled slightly, before mentally hitting myself. _She lied to you! Why do you miss her so much?_

"Because I love her," I muttered, "she's a lying, arrogant, know-it-all prick, but I love her." I felt a tear run down my face, I snarled before hissing and wiping it away, Brambleclaw couldn't cry, never, _I need to be strong._ Squirrelflight needed to sort her priorities out, Leafpool had broken the medic code and now I was suffering; I remember on our first date when we'd fought the whole time, Squirrelflight had called her sister to the restaurant;

 _"Do you and your sister have to go everywhere together?"_

 _"What can I say," she grinned, "we're a package deal."_

It was a random memory, I don't know why I suddenly remembered it, I guess I didn't know how much it meant until now. I didn't want to know what would happen to those kids now, growing up in _that_ kind of family; I certainly didn't want Crowfeather and Leafpool going near them, _but you can't stop them, they have the right to see their children, you have to let them go, Brambleclaw._

"I can't," I whispered, standing up, "I just _can't_."

 **Crowfeather's POV**

Oh Starclan, I didn't know how I was going to get out of this one. I mean, what was Leafpool _thinking_? What was _I_ thinking? Nothing made any sense, I had never wanted kids, Breezepelt was a mistake, those three were a mistake. _Your whole life is a mistake, Crowfeather, isn't it?_ I wasn't dealing with this situation very well, I had no idea where I was going to stay, no idea how I was going to explain this to Nightcloud, Breezepelt, Ashfoot... My mother already though I was a disappointment, this sure wouldn't help.

"I need a drink," I hissed, "a strong one." See, that's the problem, I just drink away all my problems... Which means I drink a lot. I was currently wandering the streets, debating whether I should go and talk to Leafpool, probably not a good idea, I had just publicly rejected her, _whoops_. There was no way Nightcloud was going to let me back in her house, near Breezepelt... It was at this exact moment when I realised my son was the only one who had never really cared about whether I was an alcoholic, a jerk, a mess; he had always been there, in the background. I had let him down, I had let myself down.

"Maybe things will look better in the morning," I flinched, realising just how crappy it sounded, "I'd better get some sleep." I crawled into an alleyway, it was rank in there, _I'll fit in just fine,_ my last thoughts before I closed my eyes were of my other three children, I vaguely remember seeing them across the road... Of course! My head shot up as I remembered moving in, was that only three weeks ago? A lot can happen in three weeks... Not all of it for the best.

 **Lionblaze's POV**

I grasped Jayfeather's arm tightly as we tried to shift the rubble. It was pitch black and I nearly tumbled into Breezepelt as Jayfeather shifted a massive rock, I frantically called Hollyleaf's name into the dark, I refused to believe she was gone.

"Hollyleaf! Are you ok? Please talk to us!" I sobbed, it was no good, she wasn't here. A small part of me wanted to believe that she might have made it, she might have fought her way through the rocks and crawled-

"Leo," Jayfeather's soft voice rang in my ears, "I'm sorry... She's gone."

"No!" I snarled, "She might be hurt! We need to keep going!" my heart thumped in my chest, I wanted to howl to the sky, just break down and sob, but I continue to dig. My hands and knuckles were skinned and bleeding, sore and worn to the bone but I carried on in the hope that I could rescue my sister;

"Lionblaze, I-"

"No," Breezepelt cut in, the first time he had spoken since we started looking, "I agree with Lionblaze, everyone else has given up, but that doesn't mean we have to." I grinned, Breezepelt was on my side! I continued to haul stones out of the way, Jayfeather sighed and started to help me. It was terrible conditions for a rescue party, and I was tired, I hadn't slept for the past two weeks; I had no idea where me and Jayfeather were going to stay... But all that mattered was that we find our sister.

"I'm in!" Breezepelt tugged my sleeve as a lump of snow fell onto my head; I was sick and tired of the cold, I was sick and tired of all the secrets, I was sick and tired of my _family._ I squinted into the dark, scared at what I might find, my sister's lifeless body? I shivered as I stared into the dark cavern, waiting. Jayfeather joined me, and although I knew he couldn't see what was there, I'm pretty sure he could tell that the tunnel was empty.

 **Wow! Brambleclaw has a personality! I'm trying to work on character depth at the moment, so if some characters are having some very philosophical thoughts you know why. Also, I didn't put Leafpool or Squirrelflight's POV's in here, because I might do a longer chapter soon with both of them in, it's going to be like a, 'meanwhile, back in Thunderclan', kinda chapter. So, yeah! I hope you enjoyed and don't forget to review! (Next chapter there will be some HollyxFallen fluff, *cackles*)**

 **-Mistle**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty is here! Wow, I can't believe I'm actually getting this done, I'm proud of myself! Thank you for 5 more reviews on the last chapter! Ok, prepare for the fluff...**

 **Chapter Twenty**

"Hey! Are you ok? Are you hurt?" Hollyleaf opened her eyes as her surroundings swam in front of her, her leg throbbed, and when she tried to reach her shin; it felt hot and swollen. She realised she was in fact in a large cavern, a river was rushing through the middle of it, and she wasn't alone. A dark shadow flickered on the wall, Hollyleaf tried not to scream as a silhouette appeared in front of her,

"Stay away from me!" she screeched, "I can fight!" She closed her eyes, _I survived all this to be killed now? Why is Starclan so cruel?_ She tried to get up as they came closer, she ignored the pain in her foot as she hobbled towards them, her leg buckled as she collapsed on the cave floor.

"Woah! Woah, calm down! I'm not going to hurt you! I'm just trying to help!" Hollyleaf's heart slowed slightly as the figure came into the light, it was a skinny boy around the same age as her, with pale ginger hair; almost like Firestar- _Oh, I guess I'm never going to see him again... Or anyone else for that matter..._

"W-who _are_ you?" she asked, more intrigued than scared now, "and why are you down here in these dank tunnels?" the boy smiled, he leant down and got out a bandage, starting to wrap her ankle up gently,

"I could ask you the same thing," he muttered, "I suppose you'll want to see the exit after I've fixed your foot?" _This guy is strange! He talks about this place as if he lives here! Why does he assume I want to see the exit?_

At that moment Hollyleaf said some words that maybe sealed her fate, she decided that however hard she had to struggle to survive by herself; she would stay away from the clans and her family, _just let them get on with their lives..._ She felt a single tear run down her cheek as the boy stared at her, _he must think I'm crazy!_

"No," she shook her head, "I'm never going back..." she glimpsed a small smile on the boy's face,

"Well, that makes you different from everyone else then..." he held out his hand, "I'm Fallen Leaves, and welcome to my home." Hollyleaf was pretty sure her jaw dropped open at that moment, he _lived_ here? What was he thinking? Did he have a family? Fallen Leaves wasn't a clan name...

"I-I'm Hollyleaf," she grimaced as he finished bandaging her foot, "You live down here, all by yourself?"

"Yeah... My family left me behind a long time ago..." he smiled at her, "but I guess that doesn't matter now... What about you? Why are you hiding in the bowels of the earth?" _Should I tell him? I've only jut me him... Oh who cares? Everyone knows anyway and who's he going to tell?!_

"I ran away," she expected to see surprise on his face but he just nodded, "I... I found out a secret about my parents... And... I couldn't handle being looked down on all the time and living with my family... So, I ran away." she realised how pathetic it sounded out loud, but she continued, "and I'm not going back, _ever."_

Fallen Leaves widened his pale green eyes at her, "It gets lonely down here..." he whispered, "I'd like to have a friend or someone to talk to once in a while..." Hollyleaf smiled and nodded, her eyes now slightly adjusting to the dark, she let her head fall back, only to find that some moss had been layered there, she sighed an closed her eyes; she was too tired to care about anything anymore, Fallen Leaves just watched her for a few seconds before padding away. Hollyleaf yawned and closed her eyes; blocking out any memories that threatened to plague her new life.

 **Fallen Leaves' POV**

I felt the hard rock underneath my feet as I walked away from Hollyleaf, I couldn't hide it; I would finally have someone to talk to! It was a miracle, someone who didn't _want_ to go back out there! I left the large cavern, squeezing into a smaller tunnel that led to my sleeping quarters; I stared at the ceiling of the tunnel, water droplets dripped onto my head, making me shiver. In my smaller cave was a pile of moss and feathers that I called my bed, and a few possessions were carefully placed on the floor; a picture of me, Broken Shadow and Stone Song, a book that my parents had given me for my seventh birthday and a drawing I had done of my family... I missed my parents so much, but I knew they were gone; all that remained of them was a photo and a deep aching in my heart.

"I'll be reunited with them one day," I whispered to myself, "They'll come and find me soon..." the only thing that kept me going in these horrible conditions was the thought of my parents, they had moved away after I had disappeared; I couldn't feel their presence anymore, and it hurt knowing that they had forgotten me and moved on. I was now sixteen, I had been eight when I disappeared, which meant I had spent over half of my life in these desolate tunnels, all by myself. Now I could finally have a friend! I know it sounded pathetic, but when you have lived all by yourself for eight years, you learn to appreciate the little things. I knew there was no point trying to leave the tunnels, my parents and people I knew were already gone and I had no idea where they went. They wouldn't remember me anyway, they all thought I was dead, drowned.

"I'll make her feel welcome, and then maybe she'll stay," I murmured, I was so lonely I would talk to anyone, and now it seems that the ancestors answered my prayer and sent me the friend I had wanted.

 **Well there you go! Short, I know, but we got the introductions done, right? Also, in this story, Fallen Leaves is ALIVE, his family just moved away after he disappeared and he saw no reason to leave after that, m'kay? Eh, nothing else really... I hope you enjoyed!**

 **-Mistle**


	21. Chapter 21

**Hey guys! Chapter Twenty one is here! AND WOW I LOOKED AT BROKEN THIS MORNING AND I HAD FIVE MORE REVIEWS! THANK YOU SO MUCH! OK, I am calm. But seriously guys, thank you so much; you motivated me to get off my lazy butt this morning and finish this chapter! On with the continuation of last chapter's fluff! Ahem, I realise I need to a bit of review replying now... Here we go!**

 **To Crystal-of-D.A-11,**

 **Meep, thank you so much! I feel so special! Of course we can be friends *mutters* I need more anyway... And of course we can have some more Jayfeather, *cackles* Sorry, I'm slightly insane.**

 **Chapter Twenty One**

"I haven't been outside in eight years..." Fallen Leaves smiled as the snow crunched underneath his sneakers, his pale ginger hair ruffled. Hollyleaf slowly stared around as well, taking in the suttle beauty of the forest as she and her companion proceeded through the thick pine trees. They were on the outside of Pebbleshore, in the untended forest;

"It's so beautiful..." Hollyleaf smiled as she stared at the ground, her past worries forgotten, she limped slightly; her ankle still wrapped tighty in bandages. It was two days after she had entered the tunnels and she had finally gained the courage to go outside, and she had to admit: it felt amazing.

"I've just realised..." She murmured, "today's Christmas!" She squealed as she ran under a pine tree, snow falling on her head as Fallen Leaves whooped and ran after her, kicking up frost behind him. For the first time in three weeks, Hollyleaf felt free, there were no secrets or family to hold her down, she could be a different person. She slowed slightly as the thought of Jayfeather and Lionblaze crept into her head... They probably thought she was dead... _Maybe it's better that way... They should just forget about me, get on living their lives..._

"Come on, slow slug!" Fallen Leaves was standing on a small hill, gazing into the distance. Hollyleaf grinned and leaped up after him, stopping when she glimpsed the other side. Down the steep valley lay Pebbleshore, the small city looked tiny from up there, snow tipped roof after roof stood silently as Hollyleaf stared downwards. Somewhere there were her brothers, Squirrelflight, Brambleclaw, _Leafpool,_ a small feeling of guilt wormed its way into her as she thought of all the peoples lives she had ruined... _No, Leafpool ruined them by lying to everyone..._

"Do you wanna go down there?" Fallen leaves turned his pale green gaze towards her, his face scrunched up against the wind as Hollyleaf sighed. A small part of her wanted to stay well away from Pebbleshore... But she couldn't resist seeing how her family was doing...

"Yes," she muttered, stepping off the hill, "let's go."

* * *

The streets of Pebbleshore City were empty, the quiet hum of people that usually filled the air was replaced with an eerie silence. Fallen Leaves looked fascinated by everything, he drank in every aspect of their surroundings as they proceeded towards the centre of town.

"Hurry up, Flametail! If Dawnpelt finds out we haven't bought her a gift she'll wring our necks!" Hollyleaf hissed when she heard the voices and she quickly pulled Fallen Leaves into a crouch behind a parked car. Two teenagers were wandering the streets; Hollyleaf widened her eyes; Tigerheart and Flametail!

"You idiot! All the shops will be closed! You should have bought it yesterday!" Flametail muttered loudly, "Oh, I know!" he grinned at his brother, "Why don't you give her the present you bought for _Dovewing?"_ Tigerheart hissed and dragged his brother around the corner as the two disappeared. Hollyleaf almost had the urge to follow them, but Fallen Leaves was already halfway down the street, she sprinted after him; the cobblestone pathway rattling beneath her feet.

"So, do you want to see your family?" he asked quietly, still staring around, "I don't mind if you do..." Hollyleaf was taken aback, _did_ she want to see her family? She knew she wanted to check on Lionblaze and Jayfeather, but she had no idea where they were...

"I'd like to see my brothers," she announced, "but..." Fallen Leaves nodded as if he understood and slowly turned the corner of the empty street;

"Well maybe if we go to all the places where they might be we'll find them." he smiled as Hollyleaf nodded thoughtfully; _ok, first up: Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw's house..._

* * *

A dark pit had filled Hollyleaf's stomach as they approached the forest which led onto the back of her old house. The snow crunched underneath her feet as she shivered; _I should have chosen to run away in something warmer!_ Fallen Leaves gripped her hand as they entered the pine trees, the forest engulfing them as they slowly and carefully padded through the entourage of dark green. _I'm surprised no-one's seen us yet..._ _Wouldn't it just be easier to go home, be warm... No! That place is not my home anymore!_

"Do you want me to stay here?" Fallen Leaves turned to her, his pale green eyes reflecting the early morning sun as Hollyleaf felt the pit get deeper, _I need to do this alone._

"Thank you," she whispered before starting to walk deeper into the forest; tears pricking her eyes as she glimpsed the fading form of Fallen Leaves watching her, _thank you._ She had walked for about two minutes when the red brick house she had called home for fifteen years came into view, _I wonder if there's anyone home... Wait! Of course there is! It's Christmas!_ She felt a pang as she thought of what this day might have been like if she had never found out the secret; her, Lionblaze and Jayfeather would be happily sitting there, oblivious to any of the terrible secrets that lay behind their birth. _Yeah, well the truth is always better than lies; even if the truth hurts ten times more._

She had now reached the side of the house, she crouched under the frosted window; quietly peering inside as her heart started to thump, _it's fine, everything will be fine! Completely f-_

"I've come to collect the rest of my stuff." Hollyleaf stiffened as she heard a voice from inside the house, who _was_ that? She quietly peered over the side of the window ledge, to see Brambleclaw holding a box overflowing with stuff. Hollyleaf felt a single tear run down her face as she watched her... Uncle, by himself; he looked terrible, his eyes sunken and hollow; his usually tanned skin pale and pasty. _What happened to him? Oh... Yeah... I happened..._

"Sure, the rest of it's in the kitchen," Squirrelflight was stood a few metres away from Brambleclaw, leaning on the wall; she looked equally terrible. _What have I done to them? And why is Brambleclaw collecting his... Oh Starclan! I didn't mean for this to happen!_ The more Hollyleaf saw of the destruction she had caused, the more she wanted to go back in time and stop herself before she did this, sure, she wanted Squirrelflight to pay for what she'd done... But... _Hasn't she paid enough? She still deserved a chance to be happy and I've ruined it..._

"Well..." Brambleclaw scratched his head awkwardly, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then... Oh, by the way..."

"What?" Squirrelflight snapped, even making Hollyleaf cringe,

"Is it ok if I bring Jessy and Frankie along...? They wanted to see what Division life is like..."

Squirrelflight's eyes grew wider as she clenched her fists, glaring at Brambleclaw, "I'm _sorry_ if I sound rude, but does division life really involve bringing two _loners_ to your _nieces_ funeral?" Hollyleaf stumbled backwards as if she had been hit, they were holding her _funeral?_ _Well, they do think you're dead... What did you expect?_ She landed in the dead bracken, hearing it crunch under her feet a Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw both peered from where hey were standing, just missing the top of Hollyleaf's head. Her heart sounded like it was going to explode as she crept back to her hiding place, refraining from letting herself jump inside and announce that she was alive. _Stay away from the ones you love, or you'll just hurt them more..._

"Daughter," Brambleclaw muttered, "my _daughter's_ funeral. And they're not loners, not anymore." with that he grabbed the other box and marched out of the front door, a small trail of snow the only thing left of his presence as Squirrelflight collapsed onto a sofa, clutching a small silver frame. As Hollyleaf looked closer she realised it was the picture frame she had made Squirrelflight for mother's day last year, as she held it to her chest Hollyleaf could make out the words escaping from her lips,

"Come home soon..."

 **Yay! I mean, no! Poor Hollyleaf? She's not going to her own funeral... Is she? *Cackles*, maybe we'll see a few familiar faces next chapter... Hehe, alsoooo, I want you guys to go check out Silver's fangs, she's such a niceperson and an amazing writer who isn't getting the attention she deserves! Go Silver! Ahem, anywho thank you guys for SO MANY MORE REVIEWS! LITERALLY I'M HAVING A HEART ATTACK AHH YOU GUYS ARE SO AWESOME! Okay, I am calm,**

 **QOTD: Who is your favourite canon cat? Hehe, Crystal-of-D.A-11 asked me this so I'm making it an official question!**

 **AOTD: Hmm, that's a hard one, *unrolls list* my four favourite are probably Squirrelflight, Hollyleaf, Cinderpelt and... Uhh, Breezepelt... Please don't kill me! Ivypool is right behind!**

 **-Mistle**


	22. Chapter 22

**Hey guys! I'm so sorry for being inactive! *insert viable excuse here*, but I'll make it up to you by updating TWICE today! Umm, I also wrote another story, called Hidden if any of you guys wanna check it out, it's basically about a creepy forest... Pleasant, I know. AND I PLAN TO FINISH IT THIS TIME! Okay, enjoy the chapter! Erm, also, I'm pretty sure Broken is going to be ending soon; but don't worry, for a sequel is in store! (More information on my profile!)**

 **Chapter Twenty-two**

The huddle of people seemed like a black mist against the white snow, Hollyleaf felt an icy cold fern brush against her nose as she shivered, _why did I come again?_

"Are you ok?" Fallen Leaves whispered, "We can still leave if you want..."

"Thanks, but I'm staying," Hollyleaf replied quietly, "I just need to see everyone," _Okay, just see Lionblaze and Jayfeather then get out of here, ok?_ "I think we need to get closer." A cold pang hit her heart as she glimpsed the face of Cinderheart in the crowd, tearstained as she hugged her sisters tightly.

"Follow me!" Fallen Leaves pulled her slowly towards a massive oak tree, closer to the gathering of people; the rough bark scratching her freezing hands as a cool, late-December breeze brushed through her thin hoodie, Fallen Leaves scrambled up the tree, hiding in the leaves as Hollyleaf followed him, heaving as she reached the top. From her hidden perch she could see everyone clearer now, Lionblaze and Jayfeather stood apart from the main crowd, huddled together as snow fell slowly; Squirrelflight was with Leafpool at the centre of the crowd, _traitors, they don't deserve to be here._

"Those are my brothers," she whispered quietly, pointing a frozen finger towards the pair, "and that's my best friend, Cinderheart! Oh, and Poppyfrost and Honeyfern! Even Mousewhisker and Berrynose came!" her eyes brightened as she saw everyone standing together, united, _because of me!_ Then she remembered _why_ they were there and her face fell as Fallen Leaves clutched her hand,

"You can always go back, if you want," he mumbled, half heartedly, "I wouldn't mind." _I couldn't leave you, you'd be lonely; my friend._

"No," Hollyleaf tried to hold back the tears brimming in her eyes, "I can never go back... It would just be... Horrible." _I wonder where Lionblaze and Jayfeather are living now? Maybe-_ Hollyleaf's thoughts were interrupted by a rustling beneath her, she stiffened as three people emerged from the path leading to the cemetery, not noticing her and Fallen Leaves above them. Hollyleaf held in a gasp as she saw one of them: Brambleclaw. She hadn't expected he would actually _come. I'm so sorry, I've ruined everything for you!_

"Well, we're here." Hollyleaf vaguely remembered seeing the other two somewhere, _but where? Where... Bus, the bus! Of course! They were those two people on the bus with me and Lionblaze! They must have been who Brambleclaw was talking about to Squirrelflight, Frankie and... Jess? Jessy! So they're loners!_

"Do you know them?" Fallen Leaves nudged her,

"Uhm, well that's Brambleclaw... He's my... My-" Hollyleaf didn't know what to say as the three continued over the snow-covered ground, towards the cluster of people, "My _uncle."_

"Oh."

"Yeah, it's complicated."

"Oh." Fallen Leaves' smile turned downwards slightly as Hollyleaf craned her neck; it seemed the cluster was divided down the middle, Firestar, Sandstorm, Leafpool, Squirrelflight, and Sorreltail's family on one side and Brambleclaw, Frankie, Jessy, Tawnypelt, Flametail, Dawnpelt, Tigerheart and- _wait! Is that... Breezepelt? Starclan, well, I geuss he is kind of like m_ y _half brother..._ The rest of the guests filled in the middle, but it was obvious of the tension between the two families; _and it's all my fault! Why did I come? It just made me feel even worse!_

There was one person not in the crowd, and to be honest, Hollyleaf didn't care. _Not at all! I'm a new person now, and I sure don't need that piece of-_

"Look!" Fallen Leaves frantically nudged her, rustling noisily as he tried to get further up the tree; Hollyleaf quickly saw where he was pointing and hissed: it was her brothers approaching fast. The bark of the tree was rough against her hands as she scrabbled around, scratching her legs as she pulled herself up into the cover of the large leaves, when she finally felt Fallen Leaves haul her up she relaxed again, sensing that Lionblaze and Jayfeather were now directly below her,

"She can't be gone!" Lionblaze muttered loudly, "I know she's not gone!"

"Leo," Jayfeather carefully rested his slender hand on his brother's shoulder, "Please, you just have to accept that-"

"You're just like everyone else, Jay!" Lionblaze snarled, making Hollyleaf flinch. Her brother was usually so gentle! He had never snapped at his siblings before, yet here he was... _You did this to them! You've ruined their friendship!_ A pit of guilt settled in Hollyleaf's throat as Lionblaze hissed, "Holly's not dead! If you want to believe that then fine! You're no better than the rest of them! Just... Just leave me alone!" he lashed out, scratching Jayfeather across the arm as he stormed away, casting up snow behind him as Hollyleaf felt the tears in her eyes again, the pale form of Jayfeather sank to the ground, bruised, as he unknowingly crouched beneath his sister's hiding place. _Wouldn't it just be so easy to jump down and... No!_ She felt Fallen Leaves' hand grab her own as she rested her head on her knees, the cold pit growing larger as she thought of everything she had left behind in the past month, _friends, family... I miss it all!_

 _I really messed up this time, didn't I?_

 **I'M SO SORRY IT'S SHORT! It's just a little filler thingy to prove I'm still alive and writing! School sucks and so does inactiveness, so I'm going to try and upload again on Friday! Yep, I will! I hope you enjoyed this terrible, short thing that I call a chapter, but next episode will be much more interesting,**

 **QOTD: What's your favourite warriors ship? It can be canon, crack, anything!**

 **(If you guys have a ship that you really love, and it will work in the story, maybe I could put some hints of it in! Who knows?)**

 **-Mistle**


	23. Chapter 23

**Hey guys, I know I said I would update on Friday, but I sorta didn't like the chapter that I wrote, so I rewrote it and posted today; m'kay? I told you all I was gonna do a 'back in TC chapter', so here it is: enjoy!**

 **Chapter Twenty-three**

 **Unknown POV**

Lionblaze was sitting down. Like usual. Like every single day of his life since Hollyleaf had gone missing. Like a part of his heart had gone missing. _She'll come back, Jayfeather may not believe it, everyone else may not believe it; but I do. I'll prove them wrong._

"Time for school." Jayfeather was slouched against the doorframe, his blind blue eyes dull as he weakly chucked Lionblaze's backpack into the room, "Ready?"

"No."

"Me neither. Let's go." Lionblaze slowly dragged himself upwards, his cramped legs screaming as he stood up, arms limp as he reached for his bag and slowly walked out of his room, Jayfeather at his side as he clutched onto his brother's arm,

"Leo," Jayfeather stared at him, eyes half closed from lack of sleep as he placed his slender hand on Lionblaze's shoulder, "I'm sorry about what happened... I didn't mean it... I'm sure she'll come home soon."

"I know you didn't. Thank you." Lionblaze's voice was cracked and broken as he traipsed down the stairs, shoes clapping against the floor, making no effort to keep the noise down as the pair headed for the door.

"Do you want a lift?" Lionblaze turned to see Leafpool standing stiffly by the kitchen counter, clutching her car keys as the brothers stood, shoulders brushing as Lionblaze narrowed his eyes, _do you really think the answer's going to be different from all the other times you've asked us?_

"No." Jayfeather snapped, "we're taking the bus." with that they exited the house, the harsh winter sunlight burning their eyes as they proceeded through the melting snow, Lionblaze could feel Leafpool's gaze burning into his back as he stomped onto the pavement; hard stone cold beneath his shoes as he exhaled, his breath turning into mist.

"This sucks." grumbled Jayfeather, "This sucks worse than your cooking!" Lionblaze couldn't help but laugh at the disgusted look on his brother's face, it seemed the first time he had laughed in a long time, _a very long time._ The bus stop could be seen through the mist of the early morning, a cold January breeze ruffled through Lionblaze's golden hair, soothing him as they crossed the road, past the identical red brick houses as the bus sped round the corner, screeching to a halt before the pair. Lionblaze carefully hauled himself up, feeling Jayfeather behind him as the bus driver nodded and closed the door behind them; sealing them in with all the other members of Pebbleshore high school. _Just walk to the back, ignore them; pretend nothing's wrong. They won't notice y-_

"Hey Lionblaze!" _Uh oh._ Mousewhisker motioned for him to sit down, leaving Jayfeather to stomp to the back, sending an angry glare at his brother as he sank down on to the hard seat next to the other boy.

"How was your hol- oh, sorry!" Mousewhisker blushed, as Lionblaze clasped his hands together, trying to look out of the window as they passed different streets,

"Don't worry about it," Lionblaze shook his head lightly, "I'm used to it."

* * *

"C'mon," Jayfeather sighed, "We have to go in or they'll call Leafpool to tell her we're absent, and you know what she'll do if she finds out we haven't been at school."

"Absolutely nothing," grumbled Lionblaze, "just like she does absolutely nothing else to take care of us."

"Well we still have to go in!" the pair were standing outside of the double doors leading into the school; cold wind blowing into them as a distant ringing sound signified the start of registration, _we'll get into even more trouble if we're late; just go in already!_

"Well let's go then, we can't miss registration." Lionblaze took a tentive step towards the door, his heart beating as he opened the door carefully, the glass cool beneath his fingers as he stepped inside; the warmth making his face heat up as he shrugged his bag onto one shoulder and started to walk down the hall, Jayfeather following suite. The halls were empty, apart from the odd student fiddling with their lockers, and eventually the pair reached their form room, _just go in; no one will notice us!_

"Oh, come on in!" Brightheart smiled and motioned with her hand, the rest of the class craning their necks as Jayfeather pushed past his brother and bad temperedly stomped to his seat, Lionblaze slowly followed him, feeling his class-mates glares burning into his back as he took his seat at the back of the room. Brightheart nodded and turned back to the register,

"Berrynose?"

"Yes Miss."

"Hazeltail?"

"Yes Miss."

"Lionblaze?"

"Yes Miss," Lionblaze noticed how his voice was quieter than the rest of the class, _great. Real suttle._

"Jayfeather?"

"Yeah."

"Ok!" Brightheart brushed her fringe back across her scarred face and sat down, holding up a small piece of yellow paper, "Umm, Lionblaze, Jayfeather, I think Firestar wanted to see you in his office!" Lionblaze sighed and stood up again, hauling his bag behind him as he exited the classroom, back into the empty hallways. Jayfeather stumbled along next to him, tripping over his feet as they turned the corner into the hall where the head teacher's office was. Lionblaze slowly knocked on the door,

"Come in." he shakily turned the handle and stepped inside, Firestar was sitting at his desk with his head in his hands; his ginger hair ruffled as he looked up at the pair. He smiled weakly and motioned with his hand for them to take a seat; Lionblaze carefully manoeuvred himself, until her was almost face to face with his grandfather.

"I expect you two know why I've called you here?" _Of course we do!_

"No," Jayfeather replied tartly, "We don't. Care to enlighten us?"

"How are you two coping with... Well..." Firestar shook his head and adjusted his tie, staring at something on his desk, Lionblaze coughed quietly; shooting an angry stare at his brother,

"We're fine." _Biggest lie I've ever told._

* * *

"Well," Squirrelflight chewed her lip, "What did you want to talk about?"

"A-"

"I mean, obviously I _know,_ but why now?" Leafpool sighed, _just listen to me!_ The pair were sitting in Leafpool's kitchen, drinking cold coffee as Leafpool shook her head, _just get it over with!_

"I..." she murmured, "I think it would be good if me and the kids... Well... If we moved away..." Squirrelflight was out of her seat in an instant, knocking over her coffee as she opened her green eyes wider,

"You can't do that!" she hissed, "I'll never get to see them!" Leafpool closed her eyes as she pictured their new life; in a new place with new people, where nobody would know about her mistake, or scorn her for the past. _It's the right thing to do, me, Lionblaze and Jayfeather can start being a proper family._ A small voice appeared in the back of her head; _but it won't be a proper family without Hollyleaf,, will it?_

"Squirrelflight," she whispered, "please just hear me out! I know you want to protect the kids, but I'm their mother; it's time for me to start acting like it!"

"But-"

"No. I need to get away from here! I can't stand people always staring at my back whenever I leave the house, it's not good for Lionblaze and Jayfeather, they need a stable figure in their life!"

"What about Hollyleaf?" Leafpool felt a sharp pang as she looked down,

"What about her?"

"Well what if she comes back?" _What is she talking about? Hollyleaf's d-_

"Hollyleaf isn't _coming_ back." It came out like a whisper, Leafpool clutched her slender fingers over her mouth as she felt a tear sliding out of her eye, _my daughter, I should have told you; then you might still be here!_

"Well they didn't find her body, did they?" Squirrelflight crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes,

"How can you be so... So, _blunt_ about this?" shrieked Leafpool, "You know I don't like to talk about it! You're acting like you don't even care!"

Squirrelflight uncrossed her arms, her eyes blazing as she stared at her sister, "I raised those kids for _fifteen years,_ Leafpool. I looked after them so long, even _I_ believed I was their mother. That's more than you've ever done!" she paused then looked away, "I'm going for a walk."

* * *

"I'm going to go for a walk," Lionblaze ran his hand through his hair, as Jayfeather stared quizzically at him,

"Ok..." he muttered, narrowing his eyes, "I geuss I'll see you back at Leafpool's house then..."

"Yeah."

 **Finally finished! Ahh, so many epic line-breaks in there...** **Thank you guys so much for reviewing, it means the world to me!**

 **QOTD: Who's your least favourite cat from the series?**

 **-Mistle**


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